Outbreak
by darkNnerdy
Summary: An epidemic is sweeping across the globe. People are dying and the world is falling into chaos. In the town of Forks, Washington Bella Swan has a choice to make: join forces with creatures born from nightmares, or suffer at the hands of her own kind. Zombie warning!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is a complete re-write for anyone who read before. Important notes at the bottom.**

_**An epidemic is sweeping across the globe. People are dying and the world is falling into chaos. In the town of Forks, Washington Bella Swan has a choice to make: Join forces with creatures born from nightmares, or suffer at the hands of her own kind.**_

_**Outbreak **_

"Did you hear about the new kids?" Jessica slammed her lunch tray on the table, already out of breath from spreading the new gossip in town.

"Five days from graduation?" I didn't even bother looking at her as I nibbled on my apple.

"I think they've been here for a week. They never show their faces though. It's so weird," she whispered as everyone at our table looked around like we were about to be caught passing a joint.

"I heard they're adopted," Lauren piped up, sitting hip to hip with Jessica. The 'Double Ditz Twins' was the affectionate nickname they'd gained, and today they were showing exactly why.

"Yeah, and their dad is some kind of surgeon. Plastic surgery, I think," Jessica said, nodding with her _BFF FOREVER_ just as she had written on her notebook.

"Right up your alley." Jessica shot me an icy blue glare before turning to the others.

You didn't show up at school a month before senior prom with a bandaged nose and boobs twice the size they were and expect people to believe you walked into a door. Well, knowing Jessica, that was possible, but knowing her dad, plastic surgery was the more obvious answer.

"My dad says it's got something to do with all the sick people in town." Jessica popped her gum as Lauren whispered something in her ear.

"For food poisoning?" Angela asked. Just the past week, her dad, who was the local minister, had been asked to come and sit with the sicker patients and their families.

Jessica's dad, head of the ER, was calling it food poisoning - blaming the Diner and Sue's cooking. We all knew it was bullshit. Every single one of us had eaten there when people started getting sick. That Diner was Charlie's favorite restaurant, he'd eaten there almost every night the week people started getting sick.

The men from the tribe had come up to defend Sue too, and Charlie stood with them while Jessica's mother handed out accusations. She claimed her husband said it was the only reasonable explanation. I thought he was just too lazy to do any real research.

_Like father, like daughter._ Charlie said those exact words to me the day Jessica Stanley cheated off my test in biology. I never understood what he meant until that day as I sat inside Sue's Diner and munched on fries with her as the town's people started protesting.

"He says they need extra hands now that some of the staff is sick." Jessica was talking so animatedly as she went over what her dad's told her, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her overblown dramatics.

"Do you think they'll cancel graduation?" Ben asked, chewing on the eraser of his pencil.

"Over sick people?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Seventy two." I knew that was the number of people that had been 'diagnosed' with food poisoning, but Jessica couldn't help open her mouth and spread it around. Any chance she got to look like she 'knew it all' she took.

I rolled my eyes. Charlie would have lost his shit if I had come right out and said something like that.

"_You kids have enough pressure right now, Bells. No need in making it worse," _he'd said almost as soon as he told me the number of people sick.

On the nights Charlie was home, it was all he talked about. It burned him that his town was going crazy with worry. His hands were tied, being just the sheriff, but he stayed at the hospital helping as much as he could most days.

"What?" Angela asked. You could see just how scared she was with that number.

Forks was a small town, less than four thousand total residents. Seventy two was a big number for us.

"Seventy two people. Dad is clueless. If he's not at the hospital, then he's in his office and on the phone."

"Charlie's the same. He said they wanted to quarantine or something."

"But no one's dead, right?"

"No, chill out." They were starting to annoy the hell out of me. I understood being worried, but there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it.

Jessica and Lauren were going to end up throwing the school into a panic soon.

"Yet," Lauren replied, smacking her lips while she spoke. I sent her a nasty little glare, trying to get her to shut her mouth.

"So these new kids..."

"The Cullens." Jessica corrected like she had known them for years and it offended her that we hadn't.

"Okay, the Cullens. They're here for that? What are they, some kind of specialists?" Ben asked, his eyes darting around the room as his fingers tapped on the table.

"He didn't say much, only that Carlisle was the best." Jessica was so sure of her daddy's words.

"I'm sure if it was serious we'd know, right?" Angela grabbed Ben's hand stopping his drumming. He looked at their hands and then at her, offering her a small smile.

"Don't look at me," I laughed and went back to picking at my lunch.

Did they really think Charlie told me every single detail of what happened in this small town because I was his daughter?

Over the last two weeks, conversations with him had become less coherent. He talked in broken sentences, lost in his head while I sat there barely understanding anything. His worry was taking a toll on his body. He barely ate anymore and his weight loss was a little more than concerning. Work took up all his time, so I tried my best to make him rest when he finally managed to stumble through the front door of our house.

When the bell rang, we all went our separate ways. With five more days of school and the last of our exams finished a few days ago, all we had left was to watch the walls collect dust.

Five minutes before the bell rang to go home, the principal's voice blasted over the audio system making everyone in class jump.

"Students and faculty, local law enforcement has just announced a mandatory curfew for the town for seven pm sharp. All practices and club meetings are canceled until further notice, as well as any and all parent teacher conferences." The principal paused, clearing his throat and shuffling papers in the background.

"At this time we ask any extra curricular activities and graduation planning be put on hold. A small ceremony will be held on the field behind Fork's High School. The local sheriff asks that any questions be directed to the hotline they have set up. Phone calls have been made to parents and counselors are available, if needed. Thank you."

Shock was written on the faces of the entire school body. I didn't think a single person moved for a five full minutes after the final bell rang. In eighteen years, we'd only had one mandatory curfew and that was for overgrown wolves that Charlie and the Queleuttes ruled harmless by the end of the day.

"What the hell does mandatory curfew mean?" Mike asked as he rose from his seat along with everyone else.

"Michael!"

"Sorry." He ducked his head and blushed, trying to avoid detention from Mr. Banner before the year was out.

"Class dismissed." Mr. Banner announced, sending everyone into a fury as they all tried to run out the door.

Outside, Jessica and Lauren were already waiting beside my truck along with Mike, Angela and Ben. I knew where this was going already.

"No, I didn't know." I pulled open the door to my truck and tossed my book bag inside, ignoring Jessica's and Lauren's huffs.

"I don't even have a dress. I can't drive to the boutique and make it back before seven."

"What the hell was your dad thinking?"

"That your graduation should be ruined with Converse and dirty jeans? How the hell should I know?" Jesus, it was like they thought I was supposed to be his keeper or something. "You two need to chill, Charlie wouldn't do this without a good reason."

"You think that doctor put him up to it?" Mike asked, putting an arm around Jessica's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

Ever since Jessica said yes to his begging, he'd acted like she was God and we were all to bow down to her. It probably had to do with her bowing to him in the janitor's closet after their first date.

"I told you they were freaks." She wiped at her face and slung off Mike's arm.

"Weren't you just defending them? It must be nice living in that delusional mind of yours." I shook my head at her, wondering if graduation could come any faster.

"Bella, she's just upset." Mike tried, but I was already done with Jessica Stanley for the day.

"I'll go by the station and talk to Charlie okay? Just chill out. Go buy some lip gloss or something." I was cranking up the truck, glad the engine was drowning out whatever tantrum was boiling inside of her.

"Thanks, Bells," Ben said, pulling Angela away from the truck as I backed up.

"I'll call you when I find something out." They both waved to me while Jess and Lauren glared. No way in hell was I calling either of them.

They were upset over a damn dress no one would see. I like clothes as much as the next person, but I wasn't about to throw a hissy fit to get piece of damn fabric. It didn't even cross their minds something could be wrong.

I didn't waste time getting to the station. I was pissed when I got there only to find all the parking spots were taken up by shiny cars that didn't look like they belonged anywhere near this town.

Inside the station, the phones were going crazy. I could see Mae, the front desk clerk, was already frazzled as she jotted down notes and pressed the button for the next line.

"Busy day?" I asked, leaning over the counter. Every single button was lit up red. "Can I help?"

"Your daddy is about ready to pull his hair out. I was supposed to bring him a coffee an hour ago," she sighed as she covered the receiver.

"Gotcha." I grabbed Charlie's mug off a stack of papers and took it to the break room. I was a little surprised he wasn't out here looking for Mae already.

"I wouldn't be here if this wasn't serious." I heard as I stepped closer to Charlie's office and stopped, sloshing coffee on my shoes.

"Damn." I cursed myself, pissed that I'd worn my new Converse today. I knew something would happen, it always did. Renee even warned me when she sent them. She knew I wouldn't wear heels to the graduation ceremony.

"I'm just not sure how comfortable I am with all... this, Carlisle." I stopped all movement when I heard Charlie's voice. He'd been so worn out lately, and his uneasy tone worried me.

_He really needed this coffee. _

"My family would never hurt anyone." Carlisle, I assumed, answered. It had to be him, I could recognize almost everyone in this town by their voices now, and he was definitely new.

He probably owned one of those ridiculously expensive, _my dick is bigger than yours, _cars out front.

"I know." Charlie paused, probably to shake his head. "I just... it's been twenty years, someone is bound to recognize you... your family."

"They are all keeping a low profile. The ones that do know of us are the only ones we've approached." What in the hell did that mean? Low profile? Who were these people?

"The new additions?" Charlie didn't even hesitate, he didn't seem at all worried by this.

"Are harmless. We're here to help, Charlie. This was once our town too and we would very much like to stay and do what we can. Our resources are vast and so is our knowledge." I tried to inch closer as their voices started to lower.

"This thing that's happening." Charlie stopped and cleared his throat. "Is there anyway to stop it?"

"I can treat the victims as they come in, make them comfortable. The reality of the situation, not only here, but across the globe is devastating, or at least, will be," Carlisle said, his voice growing deeper with concern.

"But you said yourself it hasn't made its way here yet." I heard Charlie shuffling papers on his desk. He was the most unorganized sheriff when it came to paperwork.

"No, not yet, but it's only a matter of time."

"How much time?" Charlie asked making me lean closer.

"Weeks, days, hours... Alice is trying her best to pinpoint, but she can't read a decision by one of these things." Who was Alice?

"If we can prepare now, gather what the town needs, there is a chance we can survive this." Carlisle said.

_Survive._ Now I was freaking out. Food Poisoning wasn't deadly, at least not as far as I knew. From how they were talking, this was definitely not food related.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Carlisle said and I could hear his chair scraping the linoleum.

"Something like that." There was a hollow laugh from Charlie and I knew something was very wrong.

"We're here to help, Charlie, that's all."

"How do we kill them?" Charlie asked, stunning me where I stood.

"A shot to the head." My eyes grew wide as I dropped the coffee.

"What the hell..." I was about to barge in and ask what the hell they were talking about, when I felt a hand grab me around my waist and another cover my mouth.

I tried fight, to scream, but his cold body was pressed so tightly to mine that everything burned. For a split second I wondered who was stupid enough to go after the police chief's daughter before I felt him left me.

My elbow went back instinctively and I felt the bones in my arm snap just as I rammed it into the guy's chest.

"Shit!" I cried into his hand as we stumbled.

My scream hurt my own ears as I struggled to get myself free, but he wouldn't budge. I tried to kick, but he blocked it, quietly laughing at my weak attempt to fight him.

"Stop before you get yourself killed." He hissed through clenched teeth, when I tried to bite at his arm.

He righted us as his hand slowly moved further down my waist making me panic. His hands moved off me quickly as my brown eyes widened and I could feel him grip my shoulders as he pushed me to the floor.

I heard my head smack the linoleum, all forgotten as black eyes gazed down at me, hard and cold when he removed his hand from my stomach. A tight smirk played at his lips and I felt an icy chill run down my spine.

I didn't move an inch frozen under his stare. Instead, I took a deep breath and screamed before he could stop me.

**AN: I took this story down a few months ago because of big mistakes and plot holes. I hated the entire thing and wanted it cleaned, simpler, and rewritten. I'm obsessed with writing it now and thanks to three lovely ladies and their support, I am reposting again with much more confidence. Warnings will be placed with chapters as need, but this is a zombie fic, so if you aren't comfortable with that sort of genre I'd step on back now. Posting schedule is weekly, I may write a smaller chapter and shove it in there every once in awhile, but for now it's only once a week. **

**Sushiloveswhitlock is my beta, whom I adore. PandorasFF and LivieLiv are my prereaders but it feels like the wrong word to describe them. The amount of encouragement and help they've shown me is amazing. If you haven't read any of these ladies fics you need to get your asses to it. Thank you ladies! **

**One last thank you to LivieLiv for her help with summary, that lady is filled with talent. **

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	2. Chapter 2

_**OUTBREAK **_

**Chapter 2**

"Let her go, Edward. That's Charlie's daughter, Isabella," Carlisle commanded as he emerged from the open office.

Edward, the douche bag, was still hovered over me. He stared at my face for another second before standing and straightening his clothes.

All I could think about was that some asshole had been on top of me, trying to cop a feel right in my dad's office. You had to have some pretty big balls to do that, _and_ break my arm.

I hissed in pain as I felt Edward's leg brush against my shoulder. I was sure he had done it on purpose.

"Her arm's broken." A small smirk tugged at his lips as he continued to glare. It was like looking at a brick wall when I looked up at him. A hot brick wall, but still.

Screw him and the sex hair he rode in on.

"Bells." Charlie rushed past both of them and lifted me off the floor as I cradled my arm. "Did this asshole hurt you?"

"She was snooping, listening in on your conversation," Edward accused. His moppy, bronze hair moved along with his manscaped eyebrows.

Did I get attacked by an Abercrombie model?

"You attacked me like some pervert. Did you sneak a grab at my tit while you had me down?" I could have sworn I felt something hard on him besides his abs when he held me on the floor.

"You little bitc..." I saw his weird ass, onyx eyes flash in anger.

I was ready to grab Charlie's gun and butt him with it if he leapt at me, see if knocked off some of that pretty he was carrying.

"Edward Masen Cullen, that is the police chief's daughter. You will watch yourself!" I couldn't help but snort as Edward's eyes widened at Carlisle.

Obviously daddy didn't raise his voice enough with Edward.

"How was I supposed to know that?" Edward asked, and suddenly I felt like I was back in kindergarten. Any minute now Edward was gonna stick out his tongue or pull my hair.

"That is no excuse, Edward." Carlisle came to my side and gently lifted my arm, examining it before turning to Charlie.

I was surprised at how calm my dad was. I'd have to ask him about that later.

"We can go back to my house, I have all the equipment there."

"I need a hospital." I winced as he icy fingers moved across my arm. That douche definitely broke something.

"I'm a doctor, Isabella. Everything we'll need is at our home," Carlisle said as Charlie pushed me through the exit of the station. "As for you, we'll talk tonight." Edward didn't even bother taking his eyes off me, even with Carlisle's cold glare on him.

"The hospital is closer." I tried to argue but both Charlie and Carlisle stared blankly at me.

"It's too... dangerous there," Charlie muttered as I cut my eyes to the three men around me.

"We'll explain at the house," Carlisle replied, but I stopped short of getting into his car.

I trusted my dad, but those two are getting creepier by the damn minute.

"I heard you. In the station, I mean... I heard you both," I whispered to Charlie, not wanting the doctor or his spoiled son to overhear our conversation. Edward whipped his head toward me, his black eyes felt as though they could cut right through my body.

"You have my word, we will explain everything to you, but I need you to get in the car."

Wordlessly, I let him guide me in, I felt like a prisoner as he delicately pushed my head and held my arm. I didn't make a single sound until I saw who I was sitting next to.

"Do you always attack people you don't know?" I sneered scooting as close to the window as I could.

"Are you always a crazy bitch or was that just for me?" Edward's eyes narrowed as he waited for a reaction.

I didn't care if he broke my arm, I turned my head and lifted it, along with my middle finger.

"I knew you cared." He laughed as I ignored him and watched the road pass us by.

_**OUTBREAK**_

The ride to Carlisle's was long and bumpy. Trees surrounded and swallowed everything as we drove for over an hour. I could feel Edward's eyes on me the whole time.

There was something very strange about Edward and Carlisle. Their eyes for one, I'd never seen anything like them. Carlisle's were so bright, so golden they looked fake.

Edward's eyes had a touch of Carlisle's gold, but the black was far more dominate with him. His eyes looked older, older than Carlisle's. Like he'd seen things, things that might terrify me if I asked.

It was a tragedy really. He was so nice to look at, but when he opened his ridiculously soft looking lips, he ruined his look.

Maybe he was gay.

"Try to keep your arm still," he snapped suddenly, making me jump and smack my face into the window.

Asshole.

"Mind your own business," I hissed in pain as we hit yet another bump.

"You should take your own advice," he said, his nostrils flaring as he looked at me.

"Did your daddy not hug you enough as a child?" I could hear Charlie and Carlisle laugh from the front seat. I felt bad for a split second before I glanced at Edward who looked like he wanted to punch me.

_**OUTBREAK**_

I don't remember falling asleep. I could hear the engine shut off and when I opened my eyes, Edward was, once again, staring right at me. His eyes were softer and his hand opened at his sides, just inches from my thigh. There was an itch to move closer to him, to see if the burn was still there, but I held still and just watched him.

There was something about Edward, something different that I couldn't put my finger on. I already knew he was an asshole, that was clear by the man handling. There was something else though, something more.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, taking my eyes off him. I was ready to get out of this car and back on my two feet. The pain in my arm was starting to ease up, but it was stiff and swollen now.

I looked over at the house, well, it was more like a damn hidden mansion.

"Holy shit!" I laughed watching Charlie and Carlisle talking at the front of the cars. My eyes slid back to the house and I could feel Edward watching me. "Your house, dude."

"Esme has a thing for houses," he replied, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"It definitely doesn't look like it belongs in Forks." I said, looking at the tall glass windows and huge white concrete walls.

It was the most beautiful house I had ever seen. Even the yard was gorgeous.

"Esme's your mom?" I asked as I watched someone pass by a window.

The whole thing looked like it belonged in some magazine somewhere far away from a single family logging town. Three stories worth of beauty out in the middle of the woods and housing the new town crazy. Go figure.

I heard Edward chuckle beside me as I tried to press my face to the window, hoping to get a better look. My arm stopped me as I leaned on it and winced, remembering it was injured.

I hoped maybe Carlisle would put a cast on it. Edward seemed like the type that enjoyed pain. I wouldn't mind using him to make sure the cast held together if I was to bang it against something hard.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Edward asked as I reached to open the door.

"Like what?" No way had I said that out loud and I knew he couldn't hear what I was thinking. Although, it would add to his douchiness.

"Me pulling your hair." And with that, he was up and out of the car, stomping off to the door of the house, leaving me wide eyed and slack jawed.

"No fucking way."

**AN: I have a kick-ass team of ladies that have given me more support than most people of dream of obtaining and they mean the world to me. **

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**THANK you ladies. Also, thank you everyone who reviewed, fav, alerted. YOU GUYS ROCK! You blew me away, seriously. It means a lot you liked this so much. Next update is next week and much longer. Hope you enjoyed this cause shit's about to get real crazy! **

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**If you would like a teaser for chapter 3, just let me know in your review. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings: There is talk of violence in this chapter, and in the chapters to come. Violence is a HUGE part of this story, so if it makes you uncomfortable, exit stage left. **

**This chapter is long, just like I promised. Enjoy. **

**SM owns it.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHAPTER 3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

I tried to shake the shock of Edward's words off of me as I made my way into his intimidating looking house.

Of course, I failed dramatically as my jaw dropped opened when I paused at their door. It looked like it cost more than my truck. It was easy to tell why this family hid from the rest of us, if their huge house and the shiny cars were any indication, I'd hide too.

I mean, Edward was like some kind of runway model, with his carved from marble jaw, and his oozing with sex attitude. He obviously didn't fall far from the tree, as Carlisle looked like he smacked into the stone his son was carved from.

_Stupid good looking family._

I wouldn't blame them for hiding, not really. Especially if they saw the riots down at Sue's. The people in this town were known to be harsh to outsiders, and they were _definitely_ outsiders.

Everything screamed it. They shut themselves away from everyone, they didn't go to school, and no one even knew what they looked like. Until now anyway.

Having a son who should have been bent over someone's knee for a mouth that looks like it'd taste like heaven, but spews nothing but shit, wouldn't help things. I would want to keep him far away from the public too.

Why did he have to be so damn cute? Its' always the assholes that are pretty.

"Now who's being creepy?" Edward snatched the door open, scaring the crap out of me.

Did Edward read my mind, or had I slipped when he stunned me with his douchebag attitude and say that outloud? He was awfully good at driving me crazy.

"Don't worry princess, I'm not taking your crown." I gave him my sweetest smile, the one Charlie saw whenever he dragged me to police benefits.

"Bella, don't be rude. Come on in." Charlie peeked his head around Edward who, if looks could kill, would have snapped my neck with his eyes.

I wanted to shoulder check Edward so bad I could taste it, but he took one look at Charlie and moved out of the way. I would have screamed like I was dying, just to see if Charlie would have pulled his gun on him, so it was probably a good thing.

"You are crazy," he hissed, making me wince as my arm shook with my silent laughter.

I ignored him. Either I was really crazy or he was definitely reading my mind.

Like I said, always the pretty assholes. Especially the ones with bald spots.

I looked to see if he'd react, but his cold mask was back in place as he stood in the corner of the room like a dog being punished.

Charlie cleared his throat, snapping me out of my douche infested thoughts as he cleared his throat.

"I'd like you to meet my family," Carlisle motioned for me, as he moved past us in the foyer. "This is my wife, Esme." He pulled a beautiful woman, with honey-colored hair and eyes that matched his, into the room.

She definitely smacked the marble too.

"It's so nice to finally meet you. We've heard so much about you." She pulled me into a hug, her skin as cold as Edward and Carlisle's. Her embrace was comforting as she held me to her.

"Bella." The name Isabella has always made me feel odd, like an adult, something I wasn't ready for yet.

Esme gave me a warm smile as she'd walked me into the huge open kitchen. Windows lined the back walls, showing the river and a beautiful meadow filled with flowers.

"I think that's enough for now. Bella, if you would join me in my office. Charlie." Carlisle led us to the stairs and onto the second floor.

In his office the lights were bright, and the room was filled with machines I'd seen in the hospital, only smaller.

"I don't have an x-ray machine, but if you'll let me examine it, I may be able to help." Carlisle slipped on a pair of surgical gloves and his white lab coat. He looked much older like this, and it made me wonder how he and Esme were able to adopt at such a young age. Neither of them looked as if they were even thirty yet.

"He's a very good doctor, Bells. You can trust him." Charlie's voice was reassuring when he spoke, obviously sensing my hesitation as I looked around the room.

"I have some pain pills for you, and a sling if it's needed." Carlisle's smile was warm as he spoke softly to me. "No needles, unless you need it."

I laughed a little at that. Charlie must have told him I hated needles. Taking shots when I was a kid always became a wild goose chase for Charlie. The second they brought out that needle, I would run out of the room screaming.

_** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outbreak~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

It took Carlisle five minutes to figure out I only dislocated my shoulder and sprained my wrist.

One loud, painful pop and two pain pills later, we were sitting in the living room surrounded by most of Carlisle's family. The pills had taken effect and I caught myself smiling from the high.

Alice was the first to introduce herself. She was all tiny, bouncy, and high strung. And when she hugged me her grip was way too tight. She explained her boyfriend, Jasper, had business in town and wouldn't be joining us.

Emmett and Rosalie were next.

Every single person in this family was oddly beautiful with smooth faces and perfect hair. They looked as if they belonged on some runway far away from here.

Rosalie's sneer, and they way her eyes cut at me, made me actually relax. Everything about her might have looked fake, but the way she looked at me was real.

Her boyfriend, on the other hand, scared the shit out of me. He was at least twice the size of any senior at my school. When he took my hand in greeting, I was sure he'd crush it. Instead, he was the gentlest, offering me a warm, goofy smile, and a deep, booming laugh when I cringed.

Everyone looked nervous as Esme brought out tea, but none of them touched it.

"I'm sure after what you heard at the station, you're very curious about what's going on, why we're here," Carlisle started, as I sat as close to Charlie as possible.

I didn't miss the fact that Edward had his back to us, his eyes scanning the meadow just behind the house. He was much more quiet this time around, and for that, I was grateful.

"I'm definitely confused, but I think you were talking about the sick people in town." I didn't want to come right out and say everything I had heard. Just talking about killing sick people made me nervous enough.

"I think we should start at the beginning." Carlisle slid forward on the couch and took Esme's hand. "We moved here a little over a month ago from Italy. While there, we noticed some strange things happening. Sick people, just like here, sicker even. I offered my services, as did a few members of my family. But no matter what we did, none of them recovered." He paused, and looked around the room, his eyes stopping on Edward.

"Soon reports started popping up in several places. They all claimed the same thing; Food Poisoning. Most people thought it was beef or even chicken that was causing the illness. Yet every farm was tested, and all the reports came back clean."

"How is that possible?" I asked, interrupted.

"We're still not sure. I very much doubt it's food poisoning."

"It's an easy place to blame," Charlie looked a little more relaxed in the Cullens' home as he spoke to Carlisle. Like he had made himself at home here long before now.

"It is. This is something more than just bad meat, they just need a target, something to take the heat of them." Carlisle agreed.

"Why the curfew then? And all that talk about killing 'them' in the office?"

"The first case I discovered was in Atlanta. A colleague of mine works for the CDC and asked if I would come in to observe. The cases I'd been working on were linked to his, and he thought I could help." Carlisle looked over at Edward, whose shoulders were stiff as he stood, unmoving at the window.

"The man had been an extreme case. His symptoms weren't controllable like the others. He began vomiting blood within the first few hours of admission, which brought in the CDC. His vitals were erratic at best, and he flatlined at least half a dozen times. The hospital staff was afraid to touch him. His mind began to waver and he tried to attack them. By the time I got there he had no idea who he even was." Carlisle stopped for a moment, and I watched as Esme squeezed his hand once more.

"I called Edward in to help me, since he'd been by my side during the outbreak in Italy. Neither of us knew what to make of the man. When he lost his memory, all symptoms from before. It was as if they they never existed in the first place. He was healthy, walking around and eating just like you would do on a normal day. It was his eyes that gave us our first clue, and it should have been enough."

"It would have been if they had listened to you," Edward spoke up, his voice angry and cold.

"We're not CDC, Edward. We were there to observe, not demand they listen." Carlisle's eyes turned sad as he watched his son, his voice slipping into the soothing one I'd heard in his office.

"They died because they were too egotistical to listen to someone who's been doing this before they even dreamed of existing."

"Edward," Rosalie hissed from her spot.

"It's alright, Rosalie. He's upset and for good reason." Esme stood and walked to Edward, who turned as soon as her hand lifted to touch him.

Edward moved quickly out of her reach and past Emmett and Rosalie muttering, "_Idiot"_. I turned to see what Emmett had done, but Edward was already gone.

"What's going on? Did he just call me an idiot?" I jumped to my feet and eyed everyone in the room, including Charlie, who put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me back onto the couch. "What in the hell was Edward talking about, and where did he go so quickly? How did he?"

"There are things about my family that will take time to understand and accept," Carlisle shook his head. His eyes never left the spot where Edward has stood. "I ask for now, that you just accept what you see, and try not judge too harshly. For now I've promised you answers and that's the most important thing."

I looked from Charlie to Carlisle and back again. What the hell does that even mean?

"They're different, Bells. Not bad different, but different. They're here to help us."

"And you just want me to trust them? Just like that?" I couldn't believe he was asking me this. I knew if he trusted someone I should too, but that didn't mean I would. There were already too many damn secrets in just one day. I was even more confused now, than I had been in the station.

I sat down for a moment and looked around. Rosalie didn't hide her disgust toward me, and I was fine with that. At least she was consistent in her hate.

Everyone else looked worried, like my opinion would make or break them.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before speaking again. "I want to know what happened. Right now, I just want to know that."

"The man's eyes," Carlisle turned towards me, and I offered him a grateful smile. "A milky film had settled over them. They grew darker every time he was given a meal, a little bit redder when he finished. Another twenty four hours later, and the meals weren't enough. He demanded meat; banged along the walls and door until his wishes were granted. I tried to warn them something was wrong. That all his vitals were becoming erratic again and as a precaution no one should go into the room without a suit." He shook his head, obviously remembering something.

"Our last day there, the man crashed in the middle of a psychotic break. He almost busted the two way mirror completely out and had broken his restraints. I warned them not to go in, Edward begged them, but none of them listened. We didn't matter in the department, and because of that ignorance I lost my friend and colleague."

"What did he do?" I asked, completely unaware of all the eyes in the room trained on the two of us.

"They walked in that room and declared him dead. He was dead, those milky blue eyes had proven that to me, but how do you convince a world renown doctor with an ego to boost?"

"As the doctor was removing the monitors from his chest, the man jumped up. His wide, sickened eyes zeroed in on my friend and he launched himself right at him. Before any of the nurses could stop him, his teeth latched onto his jaw and his fingers had dug into his chest." Carlisle paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "I will never forget those screams, or the pure look of terror on my friends, face."

"Oh my god."

"God didn't do shit." Rosalie spat at me, her dark angry eyes narrowed and shooting daggers at me.

"Rosalie that's enough," Emmett barked, making her head snap in his direction. He looked at her for a long minute, before she closed her mouth and settled back in her chair.

"He was dead, yet he was trying to eat the doctor. I'd never seen anything like this. The nurses tried to pull him off, but all four were bitten and clawed at as well. An automatic quarantine was put in place. Within an hour, each of those nurses and my friend reanimated just like patient zero."

"Patient zero?"

"He was the very first case, an anomaly they called him." Carlisle laughed bitterly, it made him look more unnatural than anything else had all day.

"They incinerated the entire room. There was nothing left standing. Not a single heartbeat. No bone, no flesh. Everything that might have indicated a human had once been there was swept clean, eliminated." Carlisle let go of Esme's hand for a moment and cleared his throat. "Now, every patient is compared to him. Every hospital in the world is looking at cases similar to his. Forks' outbreak is small, but compared to the towns numbers, it is a very large threat."

"But you said shooting them?"

"I shot the man that attacked Dr. Matthews. He came barreling towards the door after he'd feasted on the room. The hallway was filled with people, and I wasn't taking a chance," Edward said as he emerged from the kitchen. He looked even paler than before, if that were possible. "He took a bullet between the eyes and stayed down until the room went up in flames. That's how you kill them. One single bullet, right to the brain."

"The curfew is for your safety," Carlisle said, offering Edward a warm smile. "If any of these cases turn into what we witnessed in Atlanta, it will be easier to control if we don't have anyone roaming around at night."

"Why here though? Why did you come all the way out here, instead of staying in, Atlanta?" I asked. It seemed that would be a better place for him.

"This was my home once. Just like your father, I'd like to protect it any way I can."

"So you ran away." I didn't mean to just say it like that, but it sounded like he was.

"Maybe a part of me was. Watching a friend die like that is traumatic. I came here because it's familiar for us. We're needed here a lot more than we are in Atlanta."

"Why haven't we heard any of this on the news? I mean, are there sick everywhere now?" You'd think something like that wouldn't be kept from the public. They'd want us protected, aware.

"It's a single case, and there hasn't been another one reported like it."

"There will be," Edward snapped.

"Yes, there will. We want to help. This place is where Esme and I raised our children. Where we met. We came back because it means as much to us, as it does the rest of you." I looked at him blankly.

There was no way he'd raised them here. I'd lived in Forks almost eighteen years, and never once had I seen any of them.

"I'll explain when we get home," Charlie said, noticing my confusion.

"Is there a cure?" I asked, trying to stay focused on Carlisle's story.

"We're working on it, but for now, no. I've been doing what I can for the patients, but if they don't get better soon, we may have an outbreak on our hands."

"Wait!" Emmett flew out of his chair and out of the room. I had just enough time to see Rosalie's surprised face before he was back in his chair waving an xbox game in the air.

"Was that really necessary, Emmett?" I knew Carlisle was trying to get onto his son, but the hint of the smile made me think he was grateful for the interruption.

"This whole situation has been bugging the shit out of me since we left Atlanta," he was off the couch again, this time plopping down in front of the TV. "Remember that game Jasper and I used to spend hours on?"

"You spend hours on a lot of games, son." Carlisle finally laughed, making me relax a little.

"Just watch, you'll see what I'm talking about." He turned on the TV and started the game in his hand.

The introduction caught me by surprise. Resident Evil. I'd watched a few of the movies but never played the games. I remember the insane dogs and the bad ass chick, but not much else.

"BAM!" Emmett jumped up after blood spattered on the screen. He was at level two now, and about a dozen kills in. Everyone had been sitting quietly, sucked into the game with him, until he scared us all to death with his screaming.

"You wanted us to watch you play a game?" The graphics were great and all, but I didn't see the point.

"You said they talked about shooting, they said a single bullet to the brain. It's the only thing that takes them down, right?" Emmett was looking at us sitting on the couch. I'd never seen anyone so excited over a game before, and I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"That's what you think this is?" This time it was Esme who chimed in. She was leaning a little closer that before and her grip had tightened on Carlisle's hand.

"Wait a minute," I tried but Emmett was up and in front of us before I could say anything more.

"Can't you see it? We're always watching the movies, and playing the games. It only takes a shot to the brain, or chopping off their heads, but it's the same. It's right in front of you!" His voice was booming and he had such a wide smile on his face as he talked. "It's zombies! That thing in Atlanta was a zombie."

"Zombies? Walking dead people who want to eat you like you're the best buffet they've ever seen? That kinda zombie?"

"Yep." He was so sure of himself that I was waiting for him to pop his collar.

"You mean to tell me, that right now, there is something out there that wants to eat me?" The room was starting to spin and the last thing I wanted to do was fall face first onto the giant man telling me about zombies.

"Well, besides Edward, yeah." He started laughing loudly.

"I think I'd like to go home now," I said lifting myself off the couch and walking out the door.

Maybe Charlie would let me have a beer. I definitely needed one now.

**AN: I want to thank you all for the support and love you've shown this story. It's incredible and you guys are awesome! I tried to reply to everyone, but ffnet decided to not send anything, but thank you so much for the reviews. They mean the world and keep the ideas flowing for this. **

**PandorasFF, LivieLiv79, and Sushibrat are AMAZING. There are NO WORDS for what they do for me. I'm one lucky ass lady to have them in my fic corner. **

**So what did you think? Is Emmett on to something? Next chapter is a short update, so I may post it in a few days. Reviews are love! **


	4. Chapter 4

**SM Owns it. **

**This chapter was fun to write. I want to thank Sushibrat, LivieLiv and PandorasFF for their amazing work. This fic is NOTHING without them. **

_**Outbreak **_

Our ride home was filled with silence and tension. I watched Charlie white knuckle the steering wheel, while I ignored his curious glances.

He knew I wanted answers. There were too many things that happened inside that house, besides why they were here, and that was driving me crazy. There were too many holes in Carlisle's explanation. There _had_ to be something more going on, why else would they all be so on edge?

Even Edward seemed nervous after he calmed his douche routine.

Edward was at the forefront of my mind, or least he kept trying to be.

Every time I thought about Carlisle's words, my mind traveled to Edward. Something about that day at the CDC had affected him. I couldn't help but wonder if what happened there was the cause of his attitude now.

I knew I should have been more worried about the outbreak Carlisle kept talking about. I knew it was important, but with Edward near me, I couldn't focus.

"Do you have questions?" Charlie asked as he cut the cruiser's engine. "You're too quiet, Bells. You should have questions." He started mumbling as we both stepped out of the car.

"I need to fix dinner, then you can tell me what the hell is really going on." I knew he and Carlisle had kept some things from me.

_**Outbreak **_

Dinner was made up of leftovers and more awkward silence. I tried to stay mad at Charlie, but the quiet dinner gave me a chance to calm down. Whatever Charlie wasn't saying, there was a reason for it. There always was.

I took a drink of my water, not bothering to clear the plates before I spoke up. "They didn't grow up here. I would have noticed them."

Charlie dropped his fork and looked up at me. I could see the stress this was putting on him, the dark circles under his eyes, and the constant frown marring his haggard face.

"They did and they didn't. It's harder to explain than you think." He sighed and went to the fridge to grab a beer. I was tempted to ask for one myself.

"What does that even mean?" I was annoyed at the way he seemed to be dancing around the answer.

"It means they aren't like us, Bells."

"No shit, Charlie." Laughing I motioned around the tiny kitchen we ate in since I was baby. Nothing matched in here, the cabinets were all different shades of wood from wear and exposure to rare afternoon sunlight. The counters were yellowed from use and the floor had scuff and scratches all over.

It was nothing like the Cullens' house and that was fine with me. Charlie made sure I always had everything I needed, and most of what I wanted. We were happy, but I wished he would just tell me everything without beating around the bush.

He gave me stern look before opening the beer. "I know you noticed more than that damn house. All of the Cullens grew up here at one point or another. I've known Carlisle since I was a boy in this town, and the rest followed not long after." He drained half the beer, his eyes studying the can, and I knew there was more to it than what he was telling.

"There are things in this town, people, that I've protected because they have protected us in return. Those people are the Cullens. What I'm going to tell you will be hard as hell to accept. Hell, it took me years to accept it, but I need you to really listen to me," he said with sadness in his eyes.

"You know I will." I was almost positive I didn't even want to know now.

He nodded once he took my hand in his, making me nervous. "Carlisle is part of a world that for you only existed in those books you're always reading. He and his family have been alive for over one hundred years."

"Charlie, have you stopped taking your blood pressure medication?" I deadpan.

"Dammit, Bella."

"Dammit, Charlie," I countered.

"They're vampires Bella. Every one of them. They came back here, their town, to help us because shit's about to get real bad," I knew he was trying to think of what to say to make me believe him.

I wanted to believe him. Charlie had never once lied to me in my entire life, but he'd also promised me vampires and the monsters I believed hid in my closet weren't real. I can still remember running to his room in the middle of the night begging him to check. He would rush in my room, flashlight and baseball bat in hand, and check, only to promise nothing like that had ever existed.

But now they did?

"I think I need to call your doctor." I sighed, Charlie had been so overworked. I was certain that to be the cause of his insane babble. Maybe if_ I _called his doctor, he could tell me what to do to help.

"Go ahead."

Slowly I made my way to the phone on the wall and dialed the number on the notepad, my eyes on Charlie the whole time.

I wasn't scared of my dad. If anything, he was one of the gentlest men in this entire town. I knew he would never hurt me. Something was definitely wrong though.

Maybe the Cullens were manipulating him, or he hit his head. Hell, maybe I got damaged when I fell and this was some fucked up dream.

"Isabella, is everything alright?" Alice asked... My stomach dropped at the sound of her voice. I didn't bother to respond. Instead, I slammed the phone down so hard I knocked it off the wall and spun to look at Charlie.

"He's your doctor?" I cried out in shock, as my hands shook.

"He's been my doctor for years, Bells." His cellphone on the kitchen counter started to ring and Charlie moved to grab it.

"Don't you dare." I got to it before he could and shoved it in the fridge. "Not until you tell me what's really going on." I slammed the door, but could still hear the damn thing.

"I know this is a lot to take in," he started and my mouth dropped.

"A lot to take in? A LOT TO TAKE IN?" I screamed at him as I paced the kitchen. "Vampires. Of course vampires are real. I bet wolves and the tooth fairy exist too. Who the hell am I kidding, the gnomes in the yard probably come to life at night and raid my panty drawer," I rambled and began laughing maniacally.

"Now just calm down. Take a deep breath and try to relax." Charlie stood, looking at me with concern.

"You can not tell me vampires are real and then tell me to calm down." I gave him a sideways glare, as I tried to figure out the punchline to this massive joke.

"I'm not lying, Bella. I wouldn't lie to you, not about this." He looked dead serious, but nothing was making any sense.

Vampires were _not_ real.

"You're telling me Dracula lives in Forks."

"They aren't those kind of vampires." Charlie shook his head at me, clearly annoyed at my joke.

"Oh," I laughed, my entire body shaking. "Right."

"Bells." Charlie warned. I knew he wanted me to take this seriously, but really? Maybe I was high. It had been a few months since I took a hit from that joint Mike had, but apparently anything was possible.

"So they're the Mr. Rogers kind of vampire, then?" I could be open minded, I could accept change. Talking about vampires who protect people sounded like some kind of a delusional fiction writer with too much time on her hands.

If I hadn't known Charlie hated to read, I would have thought he was quoting some love story.

"They don't have fangs and they don't drink human blood." Charlie acted as if it was the most normal conversation ever.

"Well, that's a relief."

"They don't burn in the sun either, but they don't travel in it," Charlie continued, sitting back a little and starting to enjoy his beer once again.

"Then how does it affect them?" I asked warily, suspicious of everything now.

"Um..." he hesitated, his eyes never leaving the half empty can in front of him.

"Charlie." He was starting to worry me again and my head was already spinning from all the shit people had told me today.

"They... uh, they sparkle." His head was down as he mumbled the last word, but I heard exactly what he said.

"No. Fucking. Way." I was going to piss myself.

"Isabella Swan." Charlie tried to scold me, but I could see his mustache twitch.

"Sparkling vampires?" I almost choked and I knew my eyes were about to pop out of my head. Who the hell would do that to someone?

"Yes, Bella, I think you're missing the point though." Charlie sighed, growing frustrated with me. I couldn't not focus on it though.

They glittered...like a kindergarten craft. Someone created and bedazzled vampires.

"You mean like 'Shine bright like a diamond' vampires?" My giggling was bordering on insane and my sides were cramping so bad. This was seriously the funniest thing I had ever heard.

"I don't even know what that means." He was irritated now, but I couldn't stop.

"You are trying to tell me we have real life vampires who live here, who have lived here for years, hundreds. You say they sparkle and they drink what, pigs blood? You can't be a big bad vampire, vowing to protect our town if you are covered in pixie dust and sparkle in the damn sun." This was like some alcohol induced dream.

I didn't know what he was thinking telling me this. Why did he think I would believe it? _Who_ the hell would believe it?

"That's exactly what I'm telling you, Bells. The Cullens are real. They are vampires and they want to protect this town, and all the people who live here. I told you this was a lot to take in, but you need to just stop for a second and think. Think about what you've seen, what you've felt. You've touched them, seen their eyes. Hell, Edward didn't hide a damn thing when he ran out of the room earlier."

"I have a feeling Edward rarely gives a shit what anyone thinks."I laughed, remembering the way Edward acted around me to begin with. He didn't give a shit if I saw how quickly he left. He didn't even care if I felt how rock hard his body was when he was on top of me. Or how his hands felt as they skimmed over my...

_Jesus, it's hot in here. _

"Stop focusing on Edward and focus on what I'm saying." He huffed.

_Easier said than done. _

"Vampires, I know. I got it." I rubbed my temples. A headache was starting from this insane conversation.

"Bella, this town is in danger. The people in it could die if Carlisle doesn't find a cure. He's here to help us, he knows the risks and still wanted you to know." Charlie was angry, I knew by that mustache twitch. Right side meant fighting a smile, left side was Chief Swan coming out.

"Fine." I took a breath before settling in the chair beside him. "Let's say I believe you, that they are real. Why here? Why now?" I wanted to believe him, and knew he could see that I didn't. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

"Alice, the perky short one you met, she sees things." I bit my tongue on this one. "She saw the outbreak happen. It didn't start here, it already started in Atlanta. They aren't saying a word to the public, however. She says it will come closer and closer over the next few weeks, if not days. They came here as soon as she saw it." I wanted to hug Charlie so bad. He was trying so hard to convince me, but there was just too much too take in at once, too many questions and not enough answers.

"Why aren't they in Atlanta, then? If he's trying to create a cure, shouldn't they have stayed there?"

"They tried to help there, Bella. Carlisle fought to help, but they turned him away even though he knew his stuff." He took another gulp of his beer before continuing. "He's here because, like I said, this was their home before. He has access to medical equipment here. Nobody will question if he takes it home, and he has a lab if he needs it."

"Okay," I sighed. It was the only thing I could say, the only thing that would keep me from crying and ask why he lied to me.

Charlie grabbed my hand, making me look right at him. "When Edward touched you, how did it feel?"

Like I was about to explode. Like my world was spinning and he was burning everything inside of me. Like he could light me on fire and put me out all at once.

"Cold."

"And when I touch you?" Charlie grabbed both my hands in his, and I wanted to jerk away.

"I know, dad," I squeezed his hand, because he was right. He was warm and comforting, alive.

"I think I need some sleep." I was already so exhausted from being attacked by an asshat vampire today, then everything Carlisle said, and now this crazy conversation.

I knew I should be scared out of mind, but I felt numb and my eyes were getting heavy.

"Pretend what I'm saying is the truth. Wouldn't you do whatever you could to keep your friends and your family safe?"

"You know I would. It's just a lot for one night, Charlie. I need some alone time." I didn't want to snap at him, he didn't deserve that, but I needed time to take this all in.

"I know. I'm sorry." He hung his head as his fingers fiddled with the top on his beer can. I wanted to wrap my arms around him like he used to do when I was little and scared of the dark.

Now I might actually have a legitimate reason to be.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Things are about to get real bad around here, Bella. I'm sorry for that. For not telling you sooner and for throwing all this at you so fast. I was in your shoes once, not the outbreak part, but the Cullen part. They're good people, Bells." Charlie was being so adamant and I wanted to tell him, to shout, that I believed him.

A part of me did, but the part that he used to tuck in at night, wanted to sleep and pretend all this was just as made up as it was back then.

"Goodnight, Charlie." I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head before heading for the stairs.

"Night, baby girl." That was his way of telling me he loved me, and before I made it up the stairs to my room, I was already in tears, whispering it back.

**AN:I tried to make Bella's reaction as real and raw as possible. Hope I did that justice, and for those worried, Edward is next! **

** You guys last chapter BLEW ME AWAY! I'm serious. The response for this story is just nothing less than amazing to me. I was so sure a zombie/vamp fic would be unwelcomed here and you just... thank you. You have no idea how much it meant seeing so many reviews and alerts. I hope I responded to everyone, if not, THANK YOU! **

**I post teasers on my twitter (MissThunderCunt) and FB (Nerdys Fanfiction). You can follow me on either if you'd like. **

**Thank you guys for the motivation and support with this story. See you next week and hope you enjoyed this. Zombies are coming soon, but first we gotta get the vampire bidness out of the way. **

**BRAINZ! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Usual warnings. This is a Zombie story people. **

Four days until graduation and it was the furthest thing from my mind.

I woke up drenched in sweat and dark black eyes from a foggy nightmare following me everywhere. I gave Charlie an excuse and ditched school. I was done with my exams and the last days were just for waiting until it was over anyway.

Charlie didn't even bat an eye. He told me he'd take care of it and to think about the conversation we had.

From the time I went to my room, until I woke up, it was all I thought about. Charlie would never lie to me, but how was I supposed to accept what he said?

I turned to the Internet as soon as I heard the cruiser back out and did a search for vampires.

Apparently there is a thing called Live Action Role Play and vampires are huge in it. As fascinating as it was to see how creepy people could be, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

I found a few more entries, all a little less creepy and a lot more confusing. Obviously, the Cullen's didn't wear capes, at least not from what I saw, and they didn't drink blood from the human tap, not like the sites suggested.

I looked a little more, typing in a search for vampires and glitter, but Adam Lambert popped up. Charlie said they didn't burn in the sunlight, but there wasn't a single lore that said otherwise. There were plenty of role players to talk to, but even they only played at night.

I tried WebMD, typing in all their symptoms, but I doubted they were dying from syphilis.

Although Edward did seem like the type to get around. Still, I couldn't deny his strength or speed. I had witnessed both and as much as I wanted to blame shock, I knew it was a lie.

Instead, I did what any sane person would. I prepared myself. I did a little more research online, gathered supplies, and set out for answers.

_**Outbreak **_

I didn't have to look far.

The asshole in question was leaning against the trim of the door when I opened it.

His sex hair was stratigically in place, and I wanted to run my fingers through it. His clothes hugged every inch of him and his skin looked even paler against the all black emo look he had going on. Even his dirty boots made him look irresistible.

I imagined he could dress any way he felt and I'd still want to touch him.

I hated him for it. No one should look as good as he did and be such a douche. Even the small dimple in his cheek made me want to smack him.

"Sweet as always aren't you, Bella?" Edward hesitated at the door, his broad smile and bright white teeth stunning me for a moment. I spent a little too much time staring at them, wondering if he was hiding fangs beneath those inviting lips.

"Charlie told me everything," I sputtered and adjusted my turtle neck.

"Did he now?" He smirked down at me, making his devilish good looks even more striking.

"He said you wouldn't kill me." I should have been scared of Edward, but something told me Charlie was right, and that he would never actually kill me. Hurt me maybe, but I doubt he wanted me dead.

"Did he tell you that sometimes we slip?" Edward locked his lips as his eyes drifted to my neck, making my heart race and my pulse quicken.

I grabbed my sore arm, remembering the pain he had caused. It was already starting to feel better, I could move my wrist without too much pain, but the ache that lingered was enough to force me to see the reality of the situation.

Edward was dangerous. Regardless of his charms or good looks, if Charlie was right, he was deadly.

"You can't come in unless I invite you." I took a step back, gripping the handle with my sore arm, letting the pain drive me as I got ready to slam it in his face.

I swallowed the fear that was building, trying to stay calm and focused.

"Says who?" Amusement danced in his black eyes as he watched me and I knew I was wrong.

"Um... True Blood?" You watch one episode with Eric Northman and all the sudden you're a god damn vampire genius.

"I wouldn't let Alice hear you compare her to some trashy unrealistic vampire." Edward laughed as his dirty boot stepped over the line of the door. "See? No invitation needed."

"Why are you here?" My mind raced as I tried to figure out if any of the Wikipedia answers I found were even true.

"You wanted proof, did you not?" Edward hovered inside the doorway looking around the house as I shifted nervously, waiting for whatever bull he was gonna pull next. "What in the hell is that smell?" His nose wrinkled and he gagged before stepping back.

"Garlic." I grabbed the string of garlic from around my neck, along with the cross I made out of Popsicle sticks. The smell was horrible, but the look on his face was worth it.

"Oh this is priceless. What exactly _did_ Charlie tell you?" He asked, his fingers reaching for the necklace. His footsteps matched mine as my back came in contact with the wall. "You really shouldn't try to cover up your scent, Bella. It's one of the few things I like about you."

My eyes fluttered closed as his cold fingers pulled at the string around my neck, lifting it off me and tossing it to the floor. When I felt a rush of air blow past my face, I opened my eyes and caught him as he made himself comfortable at my kitchen table.

I took one look at the garlic string on the floor, my fingers brushing my neck against the spot he'd touched. As cold as he felt, as sure as I was that his touch would freeze me, I felt nothing but a burning tingle as I pulled the turtleneck up.

"It's getting lonely over here all by myself, Bella." His words were playful, but even this far away, I could see eyes staring at me. There was something there, something that scared me, making a chill run up my spine and my stomach fill with butterflies.

Blinking, I broke the whatever trance he had me under and made my way to the table.

I explained everything. I told him they'd convinced Charlie they were good vampires here to protect us all. I told him I knew about Alice and I was positive he could read my mind.

I asked him about what Carlisle had said, about zombies, but he was tight lipped.

Instead, I told him how ridiculous being a vampire sounded, but that I couldn't explain what I had seen. What he had done in front of me. I don't know why I told him about some of the things I said. There was something about him, something that made me comfortable as his hand sat inches from mine on the table. My heart raced every time he tapped a finger, or drew a design in the wood as he listened to me.

He made my stomach flip and my words fumble as I talked. He seemed so interested in what I had to say, making me fidget under his penetrating gaze.

When I told him how I thought they had an addiction to body glitter, he lost it.

He was so busy laughing at me, that he didn't even notice I got up from the table.

I tried as hard as I could to put up a wall in my mind as I reached for my water bottle on the counter. I didn't even think as I sat back down across from Edward at the table. I unscrewed the top, pretending to be thirsty, and squeezed the bottle as hard as I could, right in his face.

"Jesus Christ, Bella! What the hell is that?" Edward was frantically wiping at his face, but there was no smoke or fire.

"_Shit!" _I hissed at myself. Of course it wouldn't work.

"You tried to kill me with water?" His hair was hanging over his eyes and a smile played on his lips.

"Holy water." I laughed at just how ridiculous I was being with all this. Seeing Edward soaking wet was worth it.

"Blessed by whom?" He stood and grabbed a dish towel to dry his face and hair.

"An online priest." I was in a fit of giggles as he continued to dry himself.

"Anything else?" I knew he was hoping for more just to embarrass me. I gave him what he wanted. Knowing I was gonna fail, I walked over to the cabinet over the stove and grabbed the jar full of freshly sharpened pencils.

"You were going to try to stab me?" He was laughing with me now as he eyed the pencils.

"Would they work if I did?" I grabbed one of the pencils and aimed in for were his heart should be. I wouldn't really do it, but the fantasy was amazing.

"No, but I'd like to see you try anyway." He put both his arm behind his head and leaned back, taunting me.

I swallowed and aimed. If I was wrong, he could laugh all he wanted.

I watched as the pencil went flying in the air, hitting him square in the chest. The look of shock replacing his usual smirk as the led broke off.

My eyes followed the pencil as it fell harmlessly to the floor. We stood in silence, no doubt both fighting back laughter at what I'd just done.

My smile faltered as the truth of what they were finally sunk in. "I wanted proof," I finally whispered, not liking the tension that was building between us. It felt like electricity in the air, crackling and buzzing just above us. If proof was what I needed, that's what I should have said.

"What kind of proof? Do you want to see me eat an animal?"

"Eww, no. I just... I need to believe my dad. I need to know you guys aren't hurting him."

Edward stared at me as he raked a hand through his wet hair. It was truly sad what looking at him all wet did to me. The chills up my back and the butterflies in my stomach could go to hell. There was a huge possibility, that standing in front of me, was a nightmare I was sure never existed. And yet I couldn't stop wishing he would have worn a white shirt instead of black.

"Stand up." He demanded breaking my wet t-shirt contest fantasy in two.

"What?" It took me a minute to shake my confusion and realize what he wanted. What the hell did standing have to do with proof?

"I said stand up. You want proof, well, I'm giving it to you." His phone started ringing then. He slipped it out of pocket, took one look at the screen, and cut it off.

"Was that important?" I stared at the phone wondering if maybe he had a girlfriend waiting somewhere.

"No." He smiled before he was across the table and standing right in front of me. "You smell horrible."

"You can smell me?" I gulped. He was so damn close.

"I can read your mind, too." He winked as he lifted me up.

"Well, thats not creepy at all." Maybe I was in shock. The feeling of his arms around me, once again, did horrible things to my body. The chills that covered me were replaced by heat. His touch burned and caused my skin to prickle.

It felt as though his touch covered every inch of me, even though his arms were barely touching my exposed skin.

When I snapped out of my haze I was being set down in the woods.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around. Everything was green and wet.

"A few miles behind your house." You couldn't see a trail or even a broken path as he pointed behind us.

"I don't think I want you to touch me again." I stared at the trees trying to process what was going on.

"Are you afraid of me, Isabella?" He asked, smiling at me mischievously as I fought the urge to run. I could see the concern in his eyes as they raked over me, confusing me about him once again.

"I... I don't know." I shook my head, and looked up at him. "Should I be?"

"Yes." he said, his tone flat and his gold eyes shining as he watched me flinch.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked, suddenly very nervous being out here alone with Edward. The only time anyone came out this far into the woods was to have sex, or hunt.

Edward seemed like the sexual deviant kind, so he could be planning both.

"Can you stop yourself from bleeding out here?" He eyed me and then my throat.

_Asshole. _

"I don't know... maybe." I looked around for anything sticking up out of the ground, but found nothing.

"Then maybe you'll be fine." He shrugged as he rolled the now dry shirt sleeves up to his elbows.

"Very reassuring."

He laughed at me before grabbing my hand, causing my breath to catch and making my heart race in my chest.

I closed my eyes, wishing like hell that sensation would stop.

"You'll need to stop that if you want me to maintain control." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Now. Pick a tree."

"What do you mean pick a tree?"

"A tree. You know the brown tall things that have small green things attached." He rolled his eyes and easily dodged my slap.

"Fine," I turned and looked at all the trees surrounding us. "That one." I pointed to the only one I could just make out the top of.

"Good choice. Now hold on." He grabbed my thigh, the touch making me dizzy before he lifted me to his back. "Put your arms around my neck and don't let go."

"Holy shit! Put me down!" I cried as he jumped onto a high branch without warning, opposite of the tree I had picked.

"Not yet, just hold on." He laughed maniacally as he jumped from tree to tree until we were on the one I'd picked. I could hear the cracks every time we landed and each time I prayed he wouldn't let me fall.

"NO!" I screamed right in his ear. "Put me down, put me down, put me down!"

"Okay," he leapt to a final branch and shrugged me off.

I had enough time to glance below us before I felt the air whipping through my hair. My lungs burned as I struggled to scream and breathe at the same time.

"Edward!" I screamed for him with wide eyes and tears running down my face. I could just make him out far above me. He waved down as if he didn't have a care in the world while I was falling to my death.

The wind whipped through my hair, stinging my skin, and I hoped like hell that if I screamed enough I'd pass out before I died.

Just as I accepted I was about to smack the ground, I felt his arms around me once more. All of his gentleness from before was gone. His grip was tighter as we changed directions, causing the air to rush out of my lungs and my head to spin. The biting chill of his arms felt like heaven instead of hell as my feet touched the ground.

"Proof enough?"

"You psychotic asshole! You could have killed me!" I screamed in his face, ready to beat him with my cast.

"I didn't though, and that should earn me a kiss." He gave me a wink before leaning down and puckering his lips.

Maybe he saw it coming. Maybe he didn't. But I picked up a branch with my good arm, and hit him right on the side of his face.I turned without a word and began the trip back to my house.

Without Edward.**  
**

**I owe the biggest thank you to PandorasFF for talking me off the ledge with this chapter. She's just amazing at kicking my ass. Sushibrat and LivieLiv are just the best ladies ever as well. I seriously have the best fic support in this fandom. Thank you so much you three. **

**I read all the reviews for this last chapter, but because I was writing like a maniac to get a few chapters ahead I didn't respond. I hope having so many in the bag makes up for that. It means no waiting long periods for updates! YAY! Thank you btw, your reviews are what bring me back each week. **

**We have one more chapter before the ride really begins and the gore starts flying. I'm excited as hell so I might just post 6 this weekend. **

**Love it? Hate it? Do you wish a zombie would eat Edward? **


	6. Chapter 6

**In honor of Zombie Jesus Easter, I give you chapter 6! Enjoy **

** ~~~OUTBREAK~~~**

The next morning I woke up to the sound of Charlie laughing.

I hadn't heard him laugh in so long that I couldn't help but smile. I didn't bother making my bed or brushing my teeth as I raced down stairs. I had missed his smile so much and I wanted so badly to catch a glimpse of it.

During the night, I thought about what he said and about Edward. I felt like such a bad daughter for not believing him and even worse for some of things I had said.

I was a little ashamed of myself that it took seeing Edward and the things he could do to prove to me what Charlie said was true.

Knowing I had a big apology to give and my excitement over his laugh, I was almost in tears as I ran down the stairs toward the noise.

"Jesus!" I jumped back three steps as my eyes landed on Edward sitting next to Charlie. His laughter completely forgotten as I groaned. "I didn't know we were expecting company so early." I glared at Edward from my perch, before swallowing down my heart that had lodged itself in my throat.

Of course he would be here. After yesterday he'd want to torment me, and Charlie had already gotten the next two days of school excused so I had no real escape.

"I figured it'd be good for you to have some company while I'm at work all day." Charlie took a sip of his coffee, his eyes glued to the morning news.

"How nice of you." I offered Edward a tight lipped smile before trying to pull my shorts further down my thighs and walked down the stairs.

"Be nice, Bells. It'll be good for the both of you and maybe even fun."

I bit my tongue wanting so bad to make him throw Edward out but I owed him this, and if he trusted Edward here I wasn't going to doubt him again.

"Nice pajamas," Edward snorted and my skin heated red, knowing he was looking at my bare legs.

I'd been sleeping in one of Charlie's old Forks Police T shirts and yoga shorts for years. Never once had anyone been here when I woke up besides Charlie. And in all that time I had never been so self conscious about myself.

Now all I could think about, was if there was drool on my face and was my hair sticking up. I felt like I was completely naked in front of him, like this was some bad dream and he could see my hello kitty panties and black bra.

Edward choked just as my bare feet hit the wooden floors and my eyes widened.

_Fuck my life so hard. _

I sent my father a glare as I tried to hold my head high and walk past them into the kitchen.

If I could just make it to the coffee pot and drink it down, maybe, just maybe I could deal with Edward today. If nothing else, I could make a fresh pot and try and scald him with it if he pissed me off too bad.

_**~~~OUTBREAK~~~**_

I spent twenty minutes in the kitchen, my eyes staring at the clock and three cups of coffee in my system as I tried to relax enough to go back into the living room.

When Charlie left for work with a thank you whispered in my ear and a kiss on top of my head, my anxiety went up.

It wasn't that I was afraid of Edward, not really. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Something about yesterday showed me that. Maybe it was the way he talked to me, or the fact he didn't let me die, whatever it was, I just knew.

Him showing up today confirmed it.

There was something about him that made my heart race.

"It's lonely in there all by myself." My coffee cup dropped from my hand.

"You should be more careful." Edward smiled up at me, coffee cup in hand, as he knelt on the floor.

"How the..." I blinked down at the cup and back up at his muddy brown eyes. He was so close to me, too close.

"Breathe, Bella." His smile was mischievous as he grabbed my hand and wrapped my fingers around the mug. "Vampire, remember?"

"Stop doing that. I just... I just got used to the idea vampires exist, the speed thing is unsettling." I shook my head as I made my way into the living room, trying to shake the daze he was putting me in.

"It's one of the many perks of being a vampire."

I was just sitting on the couch as Edward sat down beside me quickly. "What?"

"That cloudy feeling in your mind? My looks were meant to draw you in, deliver you into submission. Everything about me is inviting to you. My looks, my voice, everything is meant to lure you." He offered a charming smile as his fingers danced over the skin of my palm.

"Great." I rolled my eyes, and snatched my hand away from his grip. I knew he was going to use that against me, he was having too much fun not to.

"I won't. At least not all the time. It is fun though, especially now that you know."

"Stop answering my thoughts." It was unnerving as hell.

He shrugged and started channel surfing. I took the opportunity to rush upstairs, run a brush through my hair and put on some pants. I was becoming a little more comfortable with Edward, but I still firmly believed he was just as pervy as any other teenage boy I'd been around in high school.

When I was finished I decided to fix myself breakfast, which brought Edward into the kitchen complaining about the smell of frying bacon. That's when he began his game of murder me by twenty questions.

"Do you always eat such foul smelling foods?" He wrinkled his nose as he opened the window over the sink.

"Do you always ask so many questions?"

"You're the first human I've had much interaction with besides Charlie that I didn't drain."

I wasn't sure if that was a joke or not, but it still sent chills down my spine. Vampire's killed people, I wasn't stupid enough to think differently. Charlie said that _they_ only drank animal's blood, but that didn't mean they always had, or that others out there like them held that kind of diet.

"Has anyone ever told you how charming you are?" I was trying to change the subject, but the thought of him killing someone to survive wasn't going anywhere.

"This ego wasn't built all by itself, Bella." His smile was dazzling and I had to force myself to look away. "You can ask, you know."

I thought about his offer as I deliberately chewed on a piece of bacon, when an idea hit me.

"Hell no. Nope. Don't even think about it." Edward was shaking his head as a wide grin broke out across my face.

_**~~~OUTBREAK~~~**_

"I don't like this game, Bella. I just want that stated for the record." He had already tried over and over to talk me out of it. There were things about me that he was curious about, human things. I was anxious to learn about him too, but after yesterday I wanted payback, and so I formed a game.

"I'll answer every question you ask. In return you have to chose at least one of these items to eat." I raised a challenging brow at him, waiting for him to take a bet he couldn't refuse.

There was a burning curiosity in his eyes when he looked me in the eyes, at least I hoped that's what that was. I knew he'd take this, it was too tempting not to.

"You know I'll have to throw all this up later."

"Yep." My grin was impossibly wide as my feet kicked in excitement under the table. He told me he could consume food, but not digest it. His family did it for show sometimes, but they always had to throw it back up later.

It only made this that much more rewarding for me.

"Is it painful?" I asked trying not to sound so giddy.

"I hate you."

"What'll it be?" I started to pick up the food as he closed his eyes. When he grabbed my hand, stopping me it made my knees weak.

"Fine. Any question?"

"Any question." I nodded which set him off into question after question about me.

We started small and simple. For a cracker, he learned my favorite color was red.

I told him I loved horror movies, but nothing with dolls, for a sugar cube.

I had two boyfriends, Tyler and Jacob Black, but Jacob left me for Embry a year ago. For that he ate a giant marshmallow.

"Are you a virgin?" I choked and he laughed.

"Are you?" I countered.

"I'll answer your question for answering mine." I thought about it for a minute. It was a good trade, even though I was enjoying the disgusted faces he made every time he swallowed something.

"A shot for a shot." I offered, wondering if I should even be drinking.

His answer was a lazy smile as he grabbed two shot glasses and Charlie's Jim Beam.

"On the count of three?" I was cringing at the thought, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we both said it at the same time.

"One... two... three." We both counted and I closed my eyes.

"No."

"No."

"Oh my god." I choked out as I gulped down the shot. My throat burned and I tried so hard not to laugh. I was so damn relieved and I didn't even know why. "Next question." I tried not to blush, knowing besides Tyler and myself, Edward was the only person to know that.

He eyed me for a moment, as if he was about to push the subject, before looking over the food and leaving me to myself.

"Your mom?"

I slid him a poptart. It was blueberry and stale. I hated them, but didn't have the heart to throw the last pack out, so this way I still got to enjoy them. While he munched on the sugary goodness, I explained that she was never in my life for more than a weekend and a child support check. She left when I was a baby for a career in journalism and met Phil, her baseball playing husband. I told him how Charlie asked me when I turned fourteen if I wanted to live with her for awhile.

I didn't.

I liked my home, and I had friends and Charlie. That was all I cared about then and even now. I worried about her, sure, but I always wondered if she worried about me, and that made the decision for me.

We stayed quiet for awhile after that and he finished both the pop tarts without a word. It wasn't hard talking about Renee. I just wished I would have had a mom in my life sometimes. Charlie made up for it almost always, and it made me kick myself for doubting him about the vampires.

"It would have been hard for anyone to take, Bella." Edward's fingertips brushed mine making me jump and wipe the tears away from my face I hadn't realized had fallen.

I stared down at our fingers, none of them touched but I could feel the energy from his closeness. It was fire and ice and electricity that made my heart race and ache for him to touch them.

When I felt his fingers hovering over mine, barely a centimeter in the air, dancing just over my own, I tried to swallow down the fear of what was happening.

Maybe this was his gift, it made me want his touch, to crave it. I could feel my muscles tightening at the thought and the butterflies in my stomach trying to beat out the racing of my heart. It was all just too much. it was like feeling a spark begin to build around our hands, around us and I was too damn scared of it.

Of him.

"Shit." I cleared my throat and pulled my hand away from his and started to gather everything on the table. "This zombie, stuff. Is it really happening?"

"Bella." I knew he was trying to get me to talk about what just happened, but I couldn't.

_Please please please, don't apologize. _I thought at him, hoping he wouldn't, as I put away the last of the food.

Maybe it was the booze hitting me, but I needed some air.

I didn't bother hiding the cigarette as Edward followed me outside.

"Those will kill you." He laughed, taking a seat on the step beside me.

"Didn't you hear? Zombie's are coming. I think one cigarette will be okay." I had this one pack for almost a year. They were saved for phone calls with Renee. She always seemed to work me up into a ball of stress and Mike was gullible enough to sneak me a pack from his family's store.

"Alice's visions aren't always accurate, you know."

"Oh?" I was still gonna smoke it.

He laughed, shaking his head. "They're made based off decisions. Dead people can't make decisions."

"Says the dead vampire." I interrupted, eyeing him.

"Har har. What I mean is, she's getting the visions because doctors are making mistakes. They aren't contacting the right people when someone reanimates."

"That's such a dark word." Reanimate. It didn't even sound right in my head and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

"She's keeping track of as many hospitals close to Washington as she can. That's how she knows it'll hit here so soon."

"Don't you think it's kind of morbid knowing you're gonna die like this and when?" I would hate to see that kind of thing day in and day out.

It seemed like a shitty gift.

"She never said anything about dying." Edward laughed nervously as he looked out at the woods behind the house.

"It's inevitable though isn't it?" I didn't like this conversation at all. I didn't mean for it to take this turn and now I was regretting it. Talking about dying, knowing I could be dead in a few days, it made me sick to my stomach.

"It doesn't have to be. That's why Carlisle's here." Edward was a little bit closer and my breathing was a little faster.

I had no idea what the hell was happening to me.

"So why are you here?" He looked over at me, sincerity shining bright in his darkening eyes.

"I'm not sure yet." He looked away just as something else flickered, but he was too fast for me to catch it.

_**~~~OUTBREAK~~~**_

We spent the next two days together.

On the second day, Carlisle followed Edward and removed my cast. I thanked him over and over and even offered to bake him muffins, making them both laugh.

I had a feeling Edward hadn't said anything to Carlisle about eating. I wasn't sure he ever would.

When Carlisle left several thank you's later, Edward followed me outside once again, not saying a word when I lit a cigarette and watched the woods.

He told me he'd went to highschool in almost every state, and how Carlisle had promised his mother just before she died that he would save her son.

I learned it took him fifteen years to gain enough control to hold a cup without breaking it. Carlisle had made him sit the last year and learn to thread a needle over and over before he was ever allowed in public places.

He talked about his brothers and sisters and how they had all despised one another in the beginning. There were too many newborns, as he called them, in one place at one time. I learned he's closest to Alice, but Emmett is secretly his favorite. Jasper had the hardest time adjusting to their life, but he's family and it wouldn't matter if he slaughtered a village, he'd still have a place with them.

Always.

It scared me hearing him talk like that, but I was happy for his honesty and I think he was grateful for me not judging them. And I didn't, not really. I mean I couldn't nod in understanding about slaughtering a village, but I could understand forgiveness.

His only mention of Esme was just how much she meant to him. I was taken aback by the loyalty and love in his eyes when he talked about them.

When I asked about Rosalie, he rolled his eyes and said that was a story for another day.

I told him that I enjoyed reading, but preferred movies. That I was addicted to coffee and loved my truck, but secretly wanted something that drove over fifty on the highway.

By the end of the day, nothing had changed between us. I still felt like he was burning me with every touch, and my heart still tried to escape my body when he got too close. The only difference really, was that I didn't see him as _just_ a charming asshole anymore.

I mean he really was still an asshole. He proved that when he tried to make my coffee for me and used salt instead of sugar. A lot of salt.

By the end of the night everything was just as it had been between us though. He even stayed for dinner, earning a questioning look from Charlie when I ordered Edward his very own double everything pizza.

He ate every last piece with an angry glare and drank a hot cream soda when I offered to help wash it down.

Charlie walked Edward out around midnight and only laughed when we both heard Edward heaving in the bushes outside.

When I finally cut my light off for the night, all I could think about was Edward and how much I hated that I missed him. It had only been a few hours since he was here, but it was nice. I'd never had many friends over, and even less that I could stand being around lately.

Edward was different.

I laughed at myself as I watched the clouds pass over the moon outside my window. I may have been prey to a vampire, but I was more than that when it came to Edward.

I was screwed.

**AN: Thank you to the ladies that make these updates possible! LivieLiv, PandorasFF, and Sushibrat! So I was gonna update Sunday, but I have things happening so EARLY UPDATE! **

**Important info: Next chapter contains zombies, so if you aren't here for the gore, well... I'm not really sure why you're here.** **I hope you guys enjoyed this, it's a lot for one chapter, and I don't like dragging things out. A few of you have asked for different POV's. This is Bella's story, but if you have ideas for Outtakes, I'd be willing to give another POV a chance. **

**Next chapter will update by Friday. Gotta give the ladies time to prepare it.**

**Reviews are awesome and you guys are blowing me away. Thank you so much! It means a lot.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you LivieLiv, SushiLovesWhitlock, and PandoraFF. And to everyone that has pimped, reviewed and alerted. You guys always blow me away. I write for you. **

**On with the show... **

**OUTBREAK **

I wasn't shocked to wake up to the sounds of Edward and Charlie again.

I did groan in disappointment when Charlie called up and asked if I was ready for school. I'd forgotten I was going back today. It was our last day before graduation, and everyone had to be there.

I'd been so wrapped up in thinking about Edward last night that school had slipped my mind.

After I rushed through a shower and got myself presentable for school, I walked down stairs to find Edward had added bipolar to his resume.

He and Charlie both, actually.

The minute I stepped into view they both started whispering. When they noticed me, they immediately straightened up and looked at each other with concern.

"What's going on?" I knew something was wrong by the frown they both wore, and the eerie quiet that filled the room so quickly.

"Edwards gonna take you to school today if you don't mind, Bells. I need to have the truck tires looked at." It was a bullshit excuse. Charlie just had the truck looked at, and the tires were almost brand new. I kept my mouth shut though, not feeling up for an argument.

I'd hoped a ride with Edward might get me some answers. I knew Charlie wouldn't tell me what was going on, and Edward's narrowed eyes made me think he might not either.

Maybe he was just pissed after spending all night throwing up all that pizza.

It's not like I _forced_ him to eat it.

"It's fine. Just let me grab my Pop-Tarts and my bag." I walked right past them both. I knew the minute I left the room they'd be back to whispering.

"Call me if something happens or you need me, Bells. Okay?" He hugged me tight, making me nervous before Edward walked me to his car.

I should have seen it then. I should have demanded answers.

_**OUTBREAK **_

The ride to school was awkward, but not humiliating like pulling into the school was.

Edward made a show of parking as close to Jessica's car as possible.

"You don't need to do that." I was already closing my eyes, my face turning beet red as Jessica stared into the dark tinted windows, primping her hair.

"Someone's gotta ensure Jessica's vanity don't they?" he chuckled, presumably at how ridiculous she looked. "Is she always like this?"

"Yes." My head rolled back, smacking the headrest. I wanted to defend Jessica, but I couldn't. I didn't want to lie to Edward, plus he would hear it anyway. I was sure he'd already read her mind anyway.

Which reminded me.

"Yes, I can read all of their minds." I heard the annoyance in his voice as he looked around the parking lot. Most people were looking at his car, and I could imagine what they were thinking.

"All the time?" I cringed remembering all the times I'd called him an asshole and questioned his sexuality.

"All the time, and I'm not gay."

"Are you sure?"

"If I was gay, Isabella―" He leaned over the armrest, his honey colored his locking onto mine. "Would I do this?"

The harsh cold of his hand lifting my chin made my heart race and I stopped breathing as his incredibly soft lips touched mine. It was dizzying having Edward's lips on mine, like a feather brushing against them. His mouth was soft, and his hands gentle, as he moved them to my neck, pulling me closer.

"Breathe," he whispered against my lips as my body relaxed and his fingers tangled into my hair.

The kiss lasted less than a minute, but I would never forget the way his icy tongue felt in my mouth, or how his lips molded against mine.

When he moved away I blinked. My lips remained parted and my mouth watered with my desire to taste him again. I felt like I was going to pass out. I'd never been kissed like that, never even thought that was how kissing could be.

"What the hell was that?" I was breathless and trying desperately to lift the fog in my mind.

"It was a kiss." He laughed and adjusted himself. Someone enjoyed themselves.

"Why?"

"To show you I'm not gay." He shrugged, but I could see the effect the kiss had on him, too. Hell, my heart was still racing.

"Liar." That was more than about just proving yourself, I added in my head.

"Would you look at that. Time for school." He winked just as the bell rang and gave me a cocky smile before opening his door.

"Oh god." I zipped my hoodie as far as it would go and lifted my hood over my head. Hopefully, no one would see me getting out of this car. If they did, especially Jessica, I would be so fucked. She wouldn't be able to control herself.

It would spread faster than any STD she'd ever had.

"Now come on, Bella. Don't be shy." Edward chuckled as he moved to open my door. I tried like hell to lock him out, but he just pressed the unlock button on his key ring until I gave up.

"I'm not shy you asshole." This wasn't shy, this was humiliating. This was definitely payback for the food.

As I stood from the car, I could see Jessica and Lauren surrounded by Angela and Ben. All four of them were gawking.

"What are they thinking?"

"They're jealous, Bella."

"This is gonna be all over the damn school," I groaned, wondering which rumor Jessica would spread.

"Do you really care about that?" With just one day until graduation, I didn't. But that didn't mean I was going to like the stares and whispers I'd get the rest of the day.

"Please be here when school lets out. The last thing I need is Jessica hounding me in the parking lot." I didn't like begging him, but he left me no choice without my truck being here.

"No problem sweet cheeks." He slapped my ass lightly, sending me stumbling forward with wide eyes and a hidden smile beneath my hood.

What the hell was he doing to me?

_**OUTBREAK **_

First period was a breeze. I was able to avoid anyone who saw me with Edward, and our English teacher stayed busy grading papers.

But First period was also hell. It left time to think about what he'd done to me.

The sneaky bastard heard all my thoughts, every single one since he attacked me at the police station, and he turned them in his favor. It felt like he was in my mind, playing games, like a game of push and pull.

He'd made me like him. He was too damn charming for his own good, and I was happy to be away from him for a bit. I needed the air and the space. I was still reeling from all the zombie and vampire talk. I had no idea what to tell anyone.

I couldn't tell them about Edward or his family. He'd never asked me not to, but there was trust put in me just by letting me know. I knew letting Charlie know was risky. Who would believe me anyway?

The zombies were a different story. I couldn't tell them the new doctor in town witnessed a dead person walk around and try to eat someone.

Instead, I cleared my head during lunch, letting myself forget about him and everything else for awhile. I focused on Jessica's nagging and Mike's incessant need to hover over her.

I ignored Lauren's glares and Ben's prying. I told them both I had no idea what was happening. Sick people were sick.

I felt like crap for lying, but there just wasn't a way to explain it without sounding insane.

I counted the minutes until last period. I let Jessica talk me into going to Port Angeles after school, even though I was just going to wear jeans under my graduation gown. She would be so focused on the clothes, I wouldn't need to worry about answering her questions.

Going with her would keep me from having to go to Angela's tonight as well. She would definitely not let me leave without telling her something. She could hold her tongue in a room full of people I didn't much care for, but alone she was like a shark on attack.

Eventually, I would tell Angela everything; crazy or not.

When the conversation strayed away from me, I breathed a sigh of relief and picked at what was left of my lunch.

I didn't miss Angela's eyes straying, or the look on her face that warned me something was wrong. Eric wasn't sitting in his usual spot. He wasn't beside her, holding her hand, or laughing at some corny joke. Apparently, he'd gotten sick earlier and was waiting in the office for his mom.

I ignored it, just like I had everything else. I offered her a sad smile and went back to my food. I let the pit of my stomach tighten and twist until I was sure it was going to explode.

With a crappy excuse, I walked out of lunch early, promising to catch up after school.

I didn't bother to look back. I let my nerves carry me to the comfort of a stall and splashed cold water over my clammy skin.

I told myself nothing would happen, that I did the right thing, and that all my worrying was over nothing.

"No regrets, Bella." I stared at my reflection, hoping that would be true.

_**OUTBREAK**_

People ran past me in the hall. One person knocked me into a locker as they tried to flee. I watched in horror as something reached out and grabbed at Jessica just as she was about to reach me to help me up.

I heard the smack of her head when it hit the floor with a dull wet thud. I could see the blue backpack hanging on his shoulders as he lunged at her. His teeth were bared, and his eyes sunken in. His skin was grey, with dark jagged lines running across his cheek. .

"Eric?" I whispered with tears in my eyes as I scrambled to sit up. I'd just seen him this morning and he was fine. I remembered his hand in Angela's as they walked to class laughing about some corny joke he'd told.

"Oh, God."

I screamed and my eyes widened when I felt blood splatter all over me, replacing my tears. The hot, sticky liquid dripped down my face, making my stomach roll as I watched him rip her open inch by inch. Teeth replaced fingers, causing small chunks of flesh to smack against the floor as he tore at her. I could see his trail of destruction along her exposed skin, bite marks that looked as if she was being mauled by a wolf. There was a hollowed out hole at her hip that he was digging in, and her blood began pooling at the floor.

He didn't care about her screams, or the thrashing of her legs as he clawed at her clothes. His nails only dug deeper, shredding the fabric beneath him as he took another bite.

"HELP HER!" I screamed to the people running around us. Not one of them even gave her a second glance as that thing pierced her arm with his bony fingers, ripping away the flesh and exposing the white of her bone.

I watched the light leave her eyes and her head roll to the side as he bit down. The crunch of his teeth against her muscle and the smacking of his lips made me heave as he chewed on what was left of her arm.

I tried to push myself up, but failed as he moved to her shoulder and palmed her blood soaked face. His moans became the only thing I could hear as he pushed his face further into her trembling body.

I wanted to run, to scream, but I couldn't move and I couldn't look away.

I knew there were people screaming for me to run. I could just barely make them out over him. His moans made their screams nothing but white noise as I tried to swallow the bile in my throat.

Just at the edge of the lockers, right behind the nurses station, Jessica lay bloody and screaming on the floor. Eric had ripped through her shirt, his fingers pulling at the threads as she cried out in pain.

"Bella!" Angela startled me as she started shaking my shoulders. "Bella we have to go!" She cried as she tried to pull me back.

The boy I once shared lunch with, the one I'd known since I was five, was on top of my friend, with his face buried deep into her stomach. His hands fisted into her hair as her own, weak and fumbling, tried to fight him once again.

It was Lauren's screams that startled him. I watched as he took another bite and I grabbed Lauren just as his dead eyes connected with us.

His face was covered in her blood. His round yellowing eyes bulging, as bits of her torn flesh was covering his rotted skin and hanging from the corner of his mouth. I watched, my eyes growing wide, as he tried to push himself off her. There was blood spreading outward from under her, making his hand shootout as he landed beside her, splashing in the sticky liquid. He didn't bother trying to get up when his face smashed into Jessica's with a sickening thud. As if the nightmare couldn't get worse, Jessica mouth opened, letting out one loud terrifying scream before his teeth sunk into her jaw, quieting her completely.

There was a terrifying silence as everyone running stopped and looked around us.

"He's... he ate her!" Lauren shrieked, her hand shooting to her mouth as she began sobbing.

Angela started screaming at me again, forcing me to snap out of my daze. Jessica's wide dead eyes turned toward us one final time as Eric chewed the skin on her cheek. Hot tears rolled down my face, as he let go of her face. Thick stringy chunks of her skin rested in his hands as he began swallowing my friend.

"Bella we have to go now!" Angela grabbed my wrist and jerked me backwards, just the sounds of Eric's teeth connecting with another part of Jessica reached my ears. I could hear the skin tearing and his hungry growls as he took bite after bite, swallowing and digging in again as if he'd never eaten in his life.

I let Angela tug me away from the scene as that thing focused on Jessica. I dry heaved before turning away and running for my life.

I tried to keep up with her as she let me go to push others out of our way. Once again, I was pushed into lockers and tossed aside when I lost site of Angela.

I focused on the sound of my sneakers smacking the floor, trying desperately to block out the sound of Eric's teeth against Jessica's bone.

It was the last image I saw before I felt something grab my ankle and heard my skull smacking into a locker.

**AN: So... that was fun, yeah? **

**Until next time! **


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thank you SushiLovesWhitlock, Ham, LivieLiv, AND PandorasFF. They are the best fic ladies ever. Without all four of them, this story would never see the light of day. **

**OUTBREAK**

**CHAPTER 8 **

"Bella... Bella, wake up!" My head was spinning and my eyes wouldn't focus as I tried to figure out where I was.

I remembered running with Angela...the screaming and the faces.

"My head." I tried rubbing away the sharp pain stabbing my skull as images of Jessica's body laying on the floor hit me.

Her blood, his hands, those teeth...it was all racing together. The images assaulted me and made my head spin.

"She's dead. She's dead and I didn't stop him." I felt my throat closing, the sobs choking me as I tried to talk.

How could I just let him do that? How could I not help her? "I didn't warn them. I should have warned them and I just kept my mouth shut." What kind of friend was I?

"She was dead the minute he bit into her." I felt his hand against my cheek, wiping away the tears that were falling. I watched them hit the floor, mixing with the blood and swirling into a trail of pink.

"Something bit me!" I jumped back and reached for my leg. "Oh god, something bit me." I was trying to claw at my leg, trying to see it, to see anything.

"Don't look down." Edward grabbed at my hand and pulled me up to look at him. "You're fine, Bella. I got to you before he could hurt you. But don't look down." He crushed me to his chest, his cold body soothing my over-heated skin.

"Edward?" I asked frantically, glancing up at him, just as someone screamed in another part of the school. The echoes made me cringe away from him.

"Shhh... I need you to stay as quiet as possible."

"Where are we?"

"I was just behind you when someone pushed you out of their way. I watched your head hit the lockers before you went down." I could hear the anger in Edward's voice as he pushed me behind his body. "I smelled him before he grabbed you. Those things put off a nasty ass smell." His nose wrinkled when he looked at me. I could barely make out familiar gold flecks his black eyes before he glanced down.

"Worse than pizza?" I gulped trying to resist the urge to look down.

"Much." He chuckled as he turned, looking down the hall. Besides the scattered papers and a few books, it was completely deserted.

The emptiness did nothing to slow the thrumming in my chest. "That thing?"

"It's dead, it can't hurt you now." There was another loud scream and then a bang just to the left of us, where I had come from.

Tears were pricking at my eyes again as I tried to block out the noises.

"I need to get you home." Edward hissed as he searched around us.

"What?" I tried to catch my breath as he grabbed my hand. The familiar burn ran over my body, trying to consume me.

"Charlie radioed Carlisle at the house. We need to go now."

"But the school."

"I can't protect everyone, Bella." All of the sweetness that had laced his voice was gone now. This Edward was angry and on edge. "I protect you. That's what I promised." He gave my hand a tight squeeze, before pulling me away from the lockers.

"Where are we going, Edward?" I asked, following him blindly down the hall.

Edward stopped as soon as another scream broke the silence and turned to me. His eyes had changed again, a dark black replacing the comforting gold. "I need you to close your eyes. Close them as tight as you can and don't scream." He placed both hands on my face, his thumbs gently rubbing my cheeks. "Do this for me, please?" He begged.

I'd never heard him sound desperate before, yet I could feel a growl he had pulled me so close.

Just as another scream was cut off, closer this time, I nodded. With my eyes glued to him, Edward smiled tightly before I felt his fingertips run softly over my lids and close them.

My cheeks reddened as I felt his cool breath on my face and suddenly my feet were off the floor.

"Edward?" I asked, fighting the urge to open my eyes.

"Shh. Not a sound, Bella," he said as his arms tightened around me and I felt a shift in the air.

He was running with me in his arms, he had to be. By the time I realized what was happening, it was over and my head was swimming as my feet touched the floor again.

"You can open your eyes Bella." He chuckled as he began digging into his pocket.

"I don't understand," I said. The screaming was further away now, but I could hear something scraping against the floor close by.

"Those things are covering the school. There are at least a dozen just behind us and they aren't all slow. I can't protect you like this."

"Then let me help." I tried to look around him but he blocked me just as something smacked into one of the metal lockers, making me jump.

He caught me, holding me steady on my feet and shook his head. "You saw what that thing did to Jessica. I can't take that risk with so many."

"I can stay. I can fight." I was shaking all over and I knew he could see it. My thought's stopped on Angela.

Where was she? Did she make it?

"I can't leave Angela." I shook my head, and stood my ground, eyeing Edward.

"It's not safe in here. I'm sure she found a place to hide."

"What if she didn't? What if one of those things has her cornered or she's passed out somewhere like I was?"

"You really think I'd let you go off looking for her?" He laughed like I told the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

"Well I can't just leave her. Eric was her boyfriend, what if she went back to him?" I know she saw what I did, but those two had been together for years. Dead or not, she loved him.

"To do what, exactly? See if he wanted to eat her too?"

"You asshole!" I reared my hand back to slap him, but Edward caught it mid-air.

"Don't do that," he growled, pushing my hand down.

"She helped me get away from Eric. I have to help her." I was getting angry, and ready to try and outrun him if I needed too. If he wouldn't help me, I would have no choice.

"You can be so goddamned infuriating sometimes." He shook his head, as he stuck his hand in his jeans pocket.

"You can't make me go without her."

"Stop being so damn hard-headed." His eyes were slits as he looked at me, hissing through his teeth.

"I'm not being stubborn, she's my best friend." I could feel the tears pricking at me eyes. I would never ask him to leave someone behind.

She saved me and I needed to save her.

_Please, Edward? _

"Fine, but I need you to listen for a minute." Edward grabbed my hand, his voice just above a whisper, as he looked behind me.

"What are you doing?"

"These are the keys to the jeep. If you want me to try and find Angela then I need you to run. Run as fast as you can and lock yourself inside. Nothing can touch you there, but I need you to run now." His eyes grew darker as he looked down at me. "Don't look back." He opened my palm, shoving the keys into my hand.

I looked down at the hard metal and back at him. I closed my fingers around the keys and wrapped my arms around him, before he pulled himself free.

"RUN!" He yelled, shoving the metal doors open and prying one long metal bar off the door with ease.

I took one look behind him and bit back a sob before running to the Jeep.

I pressed every button on the ring and listened for the alarm. I knew it was a mistake the instant I did it, but my mind was frantic and I couldn't see the car.

Edward had brought me to the side entrance of the school. The parking lot was a good five minute walk from here, but at a terror driven sprint, I should have been there in no time.

Instead, I ran into three people who looked as if they'd been in an accident.

Torn, dirty clothes hung from their ravaged bodies. Their milky, dead eyes were drooping open and bloodshot. I tried to move around them on the right, but the closest one lunged and grabbed my shirt, ripping it in half. His blood stained fingers only missed my skin by an inch.

My foot reacted on instinct as I kicked myself free and jumped up. I could see a chunk of flesh, looking as if it had been chewed, hanging on the man's arm as he tried to scramble up as well.

Something had bitten him, tore at his throat and he _should _have been dead. The other two looked worse. They looked aged, their skin grey with scars that looked as if they'd been attacked by a very big cat.

A huge hole had been ripped from the tallest one's cheek. I could see his teeth inside his mouth. I didn't recognize any of them as they began towards me again, arms open wide and gutteral moans echoing between them.

As I began to panic I heard the familiar sound of a car alarm. All three of my attackers turned at once, allowing me to swallow the lump in my throat. I shoved the closest one against the others and took off running, breathing a sigh of relief as their muffled moans moved further away from me.

It took less than thirty seconds to finally reach the loud Jeep, and no time at all to unlock the doors and jump in.

I sat in the protection of the vehicle and smiled as my lungs burned. I'd escaped from three zombies all by myself. I escaped from them and I made it.

I looked around while I waited for Edward. I needed some way to protect myself out here, but the Jeep was practically empty. I popped the console, searching for a knife, and found a map, hair gel and a Zippo inside. It only made me crave a cigarette, but at least I had the lighter.

It offered little help as a weapon though, how the hell could I kill anything with a Zippo?

Maybe they were flammable. I would definitely like to see one of them on fire.

There was no movement and no sign of the three I'd run from as I waited for Edward. I was starting to worry that something had happened. Sooner or later his douchey ways would catch up to him, but I kind of hoped it wouldn't be right now. Afterall, I was starting to warm up to him, he'd saved my life, twice. And then there was the kiss I had blocked out until now.

He needed to be alive and here so I could beat him for it.

I waited five more minutes and kept myself busy with the lighter, watching the parking lot for any sign of him.

My head snapped to the school when I heard something move nearby.

Another few minutes and I could just make out the sounds of gravel being pushed.

In a blink, it was a nightmare.

I heard the moaning before I actually saw anything. It was low, sounding so much like a wounded animal that I almost ignored it. When a head popped up over Jessica's Honda I screamed, not thinking about drawing attention to myself, until it's creepy, dead eyes scanned the cars and landed on me.

Sliding down into the seat, I cursed Edward for not having tinted windows. If it couldn't see me, maybe it would just walk on by, and ignore the human sitting in the seat. I had no idea if it could smell me, or hear my heart like Edward could.

I was never very lucky.

A hand slammed on the glass, streaking it with blood and I screamed as I tried to scramble as far away as possible.

_Damn it Edward. Where the hell are you?_

For a moment I thought it was gone when nothing else happened. I lifted my head just enough to peek over the window seal when it's eyes met mine again.

They were nothing like the milky white eyes of the three outside or Eric's. His were nothing but red, as if all his blood had pooled there and stopped. In fact, his entire body was covered in red. There were chunks of hair gone, ripped from the scalp, and his face was smeared in dirt and wet blood.

It was like a frenzy. His fingers clawed at my door, teeth bared and hungry as he screamed right along with me.

Tears streaked my cheeks as blood stained the window. His fingertips began peeling away with each slam of his hands and I knew it wouldn't take long for him to get inside.

"EDWARD! God damn it, come save me!" I screamed, praying to whoever was listening that the glass would hold long enough for Edward to reach me. I had nothing in here to protect myself with but a lighter and CDs.

I watched the thing stop mid-scream, fingers splayed wide on the door as a sickening crunch echoed in my ears.

Edward came into view as he pulled the thing away from the door, a knife stuck in the back of its skull.

"Thank you, Jesus," I whispered, rolling down my window an inch, as it fell to the ground, revealing a wide-eyed Edward standing behind it. He cleaned the blade of the knife with a quick swipe across the dead guy's shirt before looking up at me in relief.

"I've been called a lot of things, never Jesus though." He gave me a little wave before walking around the car.

"Women trouble?" I laughed with relief when he jumped inside, laying the knife in the back seat.

"I save your life and you make a joke. Glad to know you haven't changed." Edward rolled his eyes as he grabbed the keys. "Why didn't you just drive off?"

Damn, I hadn't thought about that.

"Of course you didn't." He chuckled as he started the Jeep, and my hands balled into fists.

"Wait!" I grabbed his arm, wincing at the pain that shot through my hand. It was like smacking a rock. A good looking rock, but still a damn rock.

"What? What's wrong?" Edward turned to me, eyes wide and frantic.

"Where is Angela?"

Edward's face fell as he looked at me. "She's fine. There were a few classrooms that had student's packed inside. They barricaded themselves inside. I heard her thoughts in one of them."

"How do you know it was hers?" I knew he could read minds, but if the classrooms were packed, I wondered if he could find her's out of all the others.

He closed his eyes tight, letting out a harsh sigh. "She was thinking of... of Eric."

I choked back a sob as I thought of him too. I hadn't even been worried about what Angela might be going through when her boyfriend was eating the face of our friend. I'd been too worried about myself and my safety.

"Everyone would have reacted that way." Edward broke me from my thoughts as I turned, glaring at him.

"Could you stop that?" I asked, annoyed at him already. Funny how he could change my emotions so quickly.

"Stop what?"

"Answering my thoughts. It's unnerving." He was doing it more lately since I discovered his gift and I hated every minute of it.

"You practically scream them at me."

"Ignore me then," I replied as my eyes scanned the parking lot.

"I can't smell any more and I took care of the ones I could. Once I heard you scream, I took off out of there. I know I said I would get her, but you are a hell of a lot more important," he said, ignoring my request instead.

"I ran into three of them." I shuddered, remembering their faces. No way in hell did I want to see them again.

Edward's mood darkened quickly as he shut off the car and turned to me.

"Where were you bit?" he asked, looking as if he hadn't just obliterated a face against the window. His eyes were blacker than before, fueled by anger I was sure. Whether it was at me or them, I didn't know.

"No, I wasn't bitten. You're the one who wants to eat me, remember?" I glared at him, trying hard not to let him see me shake as the shock started wearing off.

"To them, you are nothing but meat. So I'm going to ask again, did they bite you?"

"No," I repeated with a shaky voice. I didn't feel them bite me, and I was sure I would have.

"Did they touch you?" Edward demanded, his eyes narrowing at me.

_Shit._

"One grabbed my shirt and took me down, but I don't think―hey, what the hell?" Edward leaned over me and pushed my seat back. His face was just an inch above mine and my breath caught in my throat.

I could smell him, I could feel the icy chill of his body pushing into mine, and I couldn't breathe.

With a smirk, he moved back to his seat and looked at me.

"You did that on purpose, you asshole."

"I did, but you aren't shaking anymore are you?" he asked. The edge in his voice still there, but at least he was smiling. "I don't smell it on you, but that doesn't mean they didn't infect you."

"Infect me?" My eyes grew wide at that. I hadn't even thought about them infecting me, only getting the hell away from them, whatever _they_ were.

"It's happened here just like we thought it would. Those things out there, zombies as Emmett called them, are out there and inside the school."

"Oh my god! Ben...Angie...Mike. We have to go back in there." I scrambled to unlock my seatbelt, needing to help them.

"We can't do that. There are too many of them in there and I did what I could, but I can't save everyone, and neither can you."

I was already in a panic thinking about everyone still in there with those things. "How can you say that? They are people, Edward. People! We have to do something."

"I did."

"So they're okay?" I asked suspiciously.

"Some of them. Like I said, I took out as many as I could, but there is no telling how many of those things are left in there."

"Or out here." I scanned the parking lot again, hoping I wouldn't spot one of those things.

"Exactly. Which is why I need to get you away from here."

"Where's my dad?" Everything I had was still locked up inside the school and I had no way of calling Charlie.

"He's calling in backup, they will be here soon, but I need to get you to the house." Edward was already sticking the keys back into the ignition when I grabbed them, earning me an angry glare.

"No, not until he gets here." I shoved the keys under me, angry that he would try to make me leave without talking to Charlie.

I knew the danger here. I saw it first hand. But I needed to make sure my dad was okay, too.

"Bella you've been touched by one of those things, and if we don't get you checked over..." Edward trailed off, looking away from me.

"Fine, check me out," I said, slipping open my already ripped shirt and revealing nothing but a black sports bra. There was no way in hell I was leaving here until I saw Charlie. They'd only touched the collar of my shirt, maybe my neck, so if he wanted to see if they touched me, he could do it.

"Jesus Christ," Edward muttered in what sounded like a moan.

Had he never seen boobs before?

"I've seen breasts," Edward said, so low I thought I imagined it.

"Boobs, Edward. Say boobs." I tried not to giggle. If Edward could blush, I was sure he would right now.

_Boobs. Tits. Nipples. _It was wrong, I knew that, but it was making him so angry and I couldn't help myself.

"Fine. Boobs," he gritted as his eyes trailed over mine.

_Maybe not so gay._

"They didn't touch my boobs. They touched my back." I turned around, knowing my body was one big blush as I felt his cold hands ghost over the skin at my neck.

I was lost in the feeling of his fingers on me when a moan slipped out. My eyes snapped open quickly, wide and horrified, when I heard Edward chuckle.

"Oh look, there's Charlie!" I said as blue lights flashed along the trees.

"Shit...pull your shirt closed," Edward hissed.

"Or what? Afraid you won't look so golden to my daddy?" I turned and gave him a wide smile.

"Pull your damn shirt closed Bella or I'll take mine off, too." Fucker. Charlie would kill me if he found us both shirtless inside a Jeep steamed up by my breath.

Edward sat with a smug smile as I held my shirt as tight around me as I could just as Charlie pulled up beside us.

I looked over at my dad, his fists white knuckling the wheel.

"Is he okay, Edward?" Charlie's face was pale, and shaking as he looked around the parking lot with wide eyes. "He doesn't look okay." I grabbed for the door ready to jump out and go to my dad.

Edward pulled me back quickly as he clicked the lock down.

"He's fine, just worried about you. Give him a minute to collect himself."

With that I began to count the seconds, as Edward chuckled beside me.

**AN: Any mistakes in this are mine. I added more than one thousand words today. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it means a hell of a lot to me. I didn't get to answer them all, but I figured you'd enjoy an extra long chapter in exchange? Yes? No? **

**Now, what did you think? Are you warming up to Edward yet? OR are you TeamZombie? Don't be shy. **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: HUGE. MASSIVE! Thank you goes out to LivieLiv, Ham, PandorasFF, and SushiLovesWhitlock. I don't know what I did to deserve such great friends. **

**OUTBREAK **

My fingers were becoming numb as I held onto my seat. I watched Charlie as his eyes scanned the parking lot before landing on us.

Every deputy from his department was here. Lights were flashing and sirens wailing as they sat wide eyed in their cars.

"It's the Jeep isn't it?" I asked, knowing what they were seeing.

"The what?" Edward asked, looking confused.

"They're staring at it."

"Oh," Edward shook his head. "Probably. It's a mess."

I flinched back, thinking about the blood smeared on the glass and those dead eyes.

"God damn it!" Edward swore as he rolled my window down and leaned across my seat.

"What are you doing?" I tried to push myself into the seat as he gripped the window seal and stuck his head out, ignoring me.

"Charlie!" Edward started banging on the door to get his attention. "Cut off those fucking sirens. Cut. Them. OFF!" He hollered, and one by one they began shutting off the noise.

"What's the problem?" Charlie asked, stepping out of the cruiser, before stopping cold and looking down. "Bella? Bella are you okay? Did it hurt you?" Charlie kicked the dead man out of his path as he practically tore the door open.

"I'm fine, I swear." I grabbed his hand, not wanting to let go of my shirt, but needing some kind of contact with him.

"Edward what's going on? I got a call from Carlisle and then Mr. Greene. I heard screaming and then it was cut off." Charlie was steadily talking but his hands were on my arms checking me over. "You aren't hurt?" I shook my head no, hoping it would calm him down.

"Alice's vision was right. I stayed close by the school, just in case something happened, and I heard the screaming. I got to Bella and took one down just as it grabbed at her."

"Oh, thank God." Charlie looked as if he were about to collapse as the other deputies began leaving their cars and walking toward us.

"Wait, what vision?"

"Alice said she saw something happening today. She saw you sitting out here with me, but she couldn't see the before or the after."

"And you let me come to school?" I turned on Charlie, letting his hand go.

"It was a mistake. I thought it was nothing serious, just you deciding you wanted to come home in the middle of the day."

"Chief Swan?" The younger deputy was looking down at the dead zombie.

"Get your gloves on and move this thing!" Charlie commanded three of the officers.

Edward stayed in the car with me as they made quick work of removing it. He spoke to Charlie about what happened in the school and where the other people were hiding.

I could see the worry in Charlie's eyes as he listened.

"I'm going to put every man I have on the inside and we'll bring people out in groups once we clear sections." Charlie brought his gun up, checking the clip.

"I'll call Carlisle so he can inform the hospital." Edward pulled out his phone, talking quickly to whomever picked up on the other end.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" I asked, turning away from Edward. There was no way I'd be able to make out anything he said, and I was positive he wanted it that way.

"Which section were you in when you saw Eric?" Charlie pulled out his notepad, the cop in him taking over.

"Near the office. I had just left the bathrooms. It happened so fast..." I looked away from him, not wanting to describe that nightmare again.

"I know, Bells. It's okay, I just wanted to know where ground zero was. It'll be okay." He gave my hand a quick squeeze before turning to his deputies.

"We need to secure the building. If any of those things made it out, you find them and you put them down. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

I watched in awe as trunk lids went up and the deputies armed themselves.

"I took out the ones I found. It's nasty in the school though."

"Is anyone..." Charlie trailed off as he squeezed my hand.

"I don't know how many." Edward said.

"Damn. Okay."

"We need to keep the noise to a minimum so radios turned low, boys." Charlie ordered. "We don't know how many of those things are in there, or out here, so stay focused and don't shoot unless you are positive."

"Yes sir."

**OUTBREAK**

"What are you looking at?" I craned my neck towards the back of the jeep to look out the window. There was nothing but a line of trees and a few street lights.

"Emmett and Rosalie," Edward said as he jumped out. "Hey Charlie, I'm gonna do a perimeter run while you search the school. Emmett can stay with Bella."

"Oh yeah, sure, no I didn't want to come along." I rolled my eyes.

"Everything will go faster if Rose and Eddie do the work." Emmett surprised me as he walked from around the back of the Jeep. "Besides, we should get to know each other."

I gave Charlie and Edward a long look before settling into my seat and waving at them to go.

Being stuck with Emmett didn't seem so bad. The little girly wave he sent Edward did make me laugh, but I wanted to be inside, to help.

I wasn't helpless, just in shock.

"So they stuck you with me, huh?" Emmett laughed, as he leaned against the door. "Did you throw up?"

"What?"

"You know... when you saw that thing in there." Emmett tried to imitate gagging, but failed. He sounded more like a wounded dog and I tried not to laugh.

"Almost."

"Yeah, most chicks in the movies do." He shrugged, drumming his giant fingers against the door.

"I have never seen a dead person eating someone before, give me a damn break." Grumbling, I tried to ignore him. Anyone would get sick if they saw their friend's face eaten off.

"You just need to become immune to seeing one."

"I really don't think that would help." My stomach was already beginning to roll just thinking about them.

"Come on." Emmett opened my door, pulling me out. "You never know until you at least try."

"Charlie would kill me!" He would do much more than kill me. I'd be locked in a basement somewhere, far away from Emmett and all the zombies.

"No. One of those things would kill you if you don't man up and grow some balls." He laughed before looking at where my junk would be if I was a guy and shrugged.

"Emmett." I groan, wishing the parking lot would open and up and swallow me.

"What happened to the little spunky badass Edward talks about?" Emmett teases.

"She saw her friend get eaten." I deadpan.

"Fine, call this revenge then. Either way, I'm not missing out on the action." Emmett huffed.

"You want to go in there?" I pointed over the side door, a cold chill running down my spine.

"Aren't you curious at all?" His eyes lit up as he towered over me. If not for the sweet smile on his face, I might have been scared of him.

He glanced back at me as he strode over pushed open the doors, waiting.

"Come on, Bella, are you chicken?" His imitation of the chicken was much like the dog from earlier.

"Fine." I laughed nervously, swallowing down my nerves. "But what is it you expect me to do once we're in here?"

"Tap into the badass I know is in there somewhere and use her."

**OUTBREAK **

"A bench, Emmett? Really?" He'd scoured the bleachers for something for me to use, but came up empty.

We'd been in the gym for almost five minutes when he found the locker room. He didn't even bother looking around for the dead people. He said it took away the excitement and thrill of surprise.

"Just try it out. You never know until you get the feel for your weapon." He picked the bench up with ease before handing it off to me.

"Not so bad." He placed the bench into my hands and it actually felt pretty light.

"I'm still holding it." He gave a loud chuckle, shaking his head at me.

"Oh." He let go and it dropped, pinning me to the floor. "Holy shit! I can't breathe, Emmett!"

"Oops," Emmett laughed as he lifted it off me with ease. "Sorry, I forgot you were a human for a minute."

"Nice, Emmett. You're gonna get me killed." I laughed as he helped me up.

"Nah, I'm gonna teach you how to protect yourself."

Brushing my backside off, I looked around. "There's nothing in here."

"Is there a janitors closet or something?" Emmett scratched his head, looking around.

"It's in the gym, but the door is locked, Emmett." I was starting to feel deflated. I got excited when Emmett offered to bring me in here, but no way could I fight hand to... well, zombie.

Death by finger chewing. That's _exactly _how I wanted to go.

"Ah, you doubt me, young one. Just follow me." Emmett winked before trotting out of the locker room.

I pointed to the locked door close to where the coach stored the basketballs, and Emmett looked so excited as he ran toward it.

"One of the many perks of being a vampire." He wiggled his eyebrows as I made my way over to him. "Nothing can keep us out." With that, he twisted the knob with ease, breaking it off into his hand.

"You mean breaking and entering." I laughed as he started tossing out cleaning supplies.

"Haven't you ever wanted to break the law?" He looked back at me with a mischievous smile. "Now grab that stick thing over there."

I walked over to the field hockey sticks Mike had been so fond of last summer and grabbed two, just in case.

"What do you plan to do with these?" I fumbled with them as I tried to twirl one.

PE was never a strong subject for me.

"We need back-up weapons, Bella. And don't knock yourself out with that thing." He took both the sticks from me before pulling out a metal rod from the closet.

"What the hell is the janitor doing with those?" I couldn't think of a reason for him to clean the school with that thing.

"Don't know, don't care. What we are gonna do is kill some zombies." Emmett showed off by spinning the pole easily in his hand. "You better be up for this. I mean, I get it, you're a girl and girls don't like creepy nasty dead people or getting dirty." He put his hand to his mouth, mock gasping and started mumbling about his nails.

It only angered me. He had no idea who I was, or what scared me. I wasn't anything like those other girls. I hunted and fished with Charlie during the summer months. Hell, I played in the dirt until I was nine.

No way was I gonna back down.

"Gimmie the damn pole, Emmett!" I snatched it out of his hand, earning me a smile. "It can't be that hard. Just smack them in the head right?"

"That one is pointed. Just stab it in an undead eye and BOOM! You got your first kill."

"Let's do this."

"So many 'that's what she said' jokes, so little time," he grumbled before he pushed open the gym doors leading to the hall.

**OUTBREAK**

"He's slow, Bella, take your time. Just aim and jab." Emmett had corralled a zombie for me after he made three his bitch.

His words, not mine.

We didn't even get five feet out of the gym when one walked out of the bathroom. She wasn't someone I knew, which made killing it easier.

"Dammit, Emmett just shut up and let me concentrate." My hands shook as I held on tight to the poker. It wasn't as easy as just point and dead.

What if I missed?

"You're overthinking it. Zombies only want one thing. You only want one thing. Now kill it!" He was like some amped-up soccer coach as he egged me on.

I stood for a moment, telling myself they were dead now, they couldn't be helped. I saw Emmett kill without hesitation and his attacks were as graceful as they were gory. I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure of myself.

Emmett had made it look like a cake walk, whacking one so hard, half his face flew off.

If I missed, they might have enough time to lunge at me. Then what?

Emmett jumped behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts as he began poking it.

"DINNER!" he hollered at the thing as it lurched and opened it's mouth.

"You asshole!" I tried to jump back, but Emmett blocked me as that thing made a horrible gurgling moan. I didn't think as I jammed the end of my pole into its face.

I heard the sickening sucking noise it made when the sharp point entered her cheek. It was as if it swallowed it.

"Hell yeah! TOLD YOU!" Emmett cheered as her eyes rolled back and she went limp, pulling me down to the floor with her.

Emmett grabbed the stick, one foot on the zombie's chest, and snatched it free.

I looked around, dazed and excited at what I had just done. "I killed it. Emmett, I did it! I fucking killed it!"

"Yes, you fucking did!" He grabbed me into a bear hug, before handing me the bloody weapon. "You ready to try it again?"

"How many more of them are there?" I stared down at her, wondering if she tried to fight back when she was bitten.

"I can hear two more, but I also hear your dad's deputies. They've killed three since we've been in here." Somehow hearing that number made me feel better about what happened.

"Are they saving anyone?" We had eight-hundred students here and Edward said most were barricaded away from the zombies.

"Charlie got five classrooms out." I jumped hearing a gunshot. I'd been so distracted before, I hadn't heard any of them. "We're saving people by killing them, I promise."

I knew he was right, if we killed the ones here, that would mean my friends, the ones that survived would be okay.

"It's okay to be excited."

"I feel bad for it. I mean, she had a family." I waved to the girl I impaled.

"And so does everyone else here that you just protected by getting rid of it."

"What are they gonna do with the dead?" I asked, turning away to wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans.

"Burn them maybe?" Emmett shrugged, before his head snapped to the other end of the hallway. "Those two I talked about before? They're here."

Emmett was practically bouncing as he waited for me to aim and attack.

I hesitated for a split second. As soon as I heard the first one round the corner, I was fast behind Emmett, ready to be his sidekick once again.

"You got this, Bella!" He moved out of the way quickly and without thinking, I ran the sharp end into the zombie's neck, missing it's face by an inch.

"Shit!"

"Try again. You're fucking bad-ass now, remember that. Make it your bitch!" Emmett bounced around the other zombie, poking it and laughing, as I pulled the rod free from its neck.

I thought about Jessica as I reared back and with all my strength, stabbed straight through its nose. The crunching sound that followed was the worst and Emmett didn't laugh, thankfully, when I threw up.

"Thank you," I panted when he carried me over to a water fountain.

"I'm so proud of you, dude." He patted my back, giving me a broad smile.

I was shaking all over, half fear, half excited at what I'd done. "My dad's gonna kill me."

"Not before I kill, Emmett." I didn't even have time to blink.

The crack in the linoleum was louder than anything I have ever heard, followed by the lockers screeching and caving in.

Edward had Emmett by the throat holding him in the air.

"Aww, did you miss me?" Emmett made a kissing sound with his lips before he was flung across the floor, sliding to stop next to me.

When Edward's glare was turned to me, followed by Charlie's booming voice calling my name, I knew I was in deep shit.

**AN: Damn Emmett! And poor, Bella. All she wanted to do was not feel useless. **

**This chapter was lighthearted and I hope you enjoyed it. After the last two, I figured you could use a little fun. It was supposed to be short, but it turned into a monster. Emmett is VERY wordy. **

**Also I want to thank you guys. It's because of your awesome reviews that this story is alive. I'm amazed you've given me so much love. It's means a lot, thank you. **

**I posted a Dexterward type fic for those interested. It's 5 chapters and will post daily this week. If you'd like pop on over and give it a read! **


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